XIII

At first the animals were reluctant for Susan to tell him about their mission. They couldn't understand how she trusted him if he had come here against her will. But she eventually persuaded them by reminding them that the prophesy had spoken of a Son of Adam as well as a Daughter of Eve and he might be able to help. David listened attentively as she related all that had happened since she arrived.

“So you think the seed is hidden somewhere in these caves?” he asked when she was finished. Hedegar nodded.

“Well, I suppose the first place would be to look in that chest back there,” he said next, pointing to the cave where they had found him.

Susan had completely forgotten about the strange box in the middle of the cave that David had been bending over when they first found him. The shock of seeing him there had prevented her from wondering what was in it.

“It seems like a good place to look,” said Gelinda in reply.

“It's locked,” put in David, “I don't suppose you have a key?” They all turned to Hedegar.

“I only have the key for the small box in which the clue was hidden,” answered the hedgehog, rummaging in the small bag he carried. David frowned when he finally produced it, “It would have to be bigger than that,” he said, with some disappointment.

“Hmm,” thought Hedegar, scratching his head, “If that's where it is, Bragold must have hidden the key somewhere. Did you search the cave?”

“All around,” answered David, “There wouldn't be much point in locking it if the key was within easy reach anyway.”

Just then, there was a brief noise and movement in the back part of the cave near the smaller of the two passages. They turned around to find the source of the disturbance, and were greeted by the last sight any of them expected. Waddling towards them from the direction of the cave was a guinea-pig. In his mouth he carried a key. Everyone stared at him in amazement.

Susan was the first to respond. “Why, it's the guinea-pig! From the Wood between the Worlds! David, he never left the cave, he had just gone exploring in the small passage. And it would seem that that was where Bragold hid the key. In a place that only a small creature like a hedgehog or guinea-pig could reach. Though how the guinea-pig knew we would need it is beyond me.”

The guinea-pig walked up to David, who bent down and took the key from his mouth. “Good boy,” he said, giving him a brief pat with a look of amusement, “Next time you plan to go off exploring, let me know where you're going,” he added, in a tone of scolding mixed with mirth.

The creature simply looked at him. Then he turned to where Susan was standing and, with a look of recognition, ran up to her. “Oh you naughty, clever guinea-pig,” she said, bending to pick him up and give him a hug and scratch behind the ears. I don't know whether to be angry or grateful you brought David here instead of taking him back home.” After a moment’s silence, she continued, “You got the wrong world, though. This isn't Narnia.” She put the creature down again and he cocked his head with an odd expression, as though he'd known exactly what he was doing and she was the one who was mistaken. “You are a mystery,” she finally added.

The small group made their way back to the cave where they had found David, with the key. The chest in the middle of the room was similar to the smaller one in which the scroll had been kept. In the torchlight, Susan could make out some intricate carvings of what appeared to be a tree. She wondered if that was a Breaknut tree looked like.

"Look!" said Scaltard who was standing next to her, but more at eye-level with the chest. He pointed to a section of the carving. There was a a single leaf carved in mid-flight falling towards the ground. "The leaf as it falls," he whispered. Susan smiled at him and silently inserted the key into the lock. It fitted perfectly and the lock clicked open. This was all too easy.

They opened the chest and found a number of things inside. A selection of provisions including firewood, and some sticks clearly designed to be torches, with stands in which they could be placed upright. There were also, to Susan’s surprise, two small fishing rods and fishing tackle. In addition, there was another smaller chest identical to the one in which the scroll had been kept. Hedegar produced his small key and it fitted the lock.

They all held their breaths. Was this it? Would the seed be in here?

Hedegar turned the key to open it and lifted the lid. Inside was another scroll. He slowly opened the scroll to reveal more writing.

“What does it say?” asked Vixel.

“There's not enough light,” said Scaltard, “and I'm afraid my reading is not yet good enough. You will have to read it Susan.”

Susan took up the scroll and was about to read it, when, on a sudden thought, she handed it to David. She hoped this might increase the creatures’ trust of him. He turned his torch so it was shining fully on it and read:

If you've found this clue, you're on your way,
To find what you seek, so don't dismay.
But follow the clues till journey's end,
That you the harm to this land might mend.

The path is narrow,
The way is straight,
Walk till you find the fair one's gate
Enter and (hoping you are the first)
You may rest and quench your thirst.

It was another clue. Their task was not yet over. They would have to work out the meaning of this before they could continue the search for who-knows how many more clues, before they finally found what they sought. The sense of disappointment among the animals could be felt. But there was nothing to be done. At least they had made some progress and were on the right track. A little dejectedly, they made their way back to the main chamber.

At least they had firewood and torches with which they could spend a night comfortably in the cave. They carried the provisions back to the main cave and set up camp for the night. David still had some food he had brought from home and, together with what the others had brought, they had a light meal and fell to discussing the meaning of the next riddle. They were all tired from a long day, however, and hadn’t come any closer to figuring out the riddle when one by one they began to drop off to sleep in the light of the glowing fire.

Susan was the last to fall asleep. She lay there for some time, pondering the events of the day. Why had David come? Why was she even here? What was so important about this seed that Hedegar’s ancestor had taken such trouble to hide it? How did the guinea-pig know so much?

She had the impression she had been caught up in some important events quite by accident, and yet she didn’t feel as though she was here by chance. This place wasn’t Narnia, and yet, like in Narnia, it seemed she had been brought here by an unseen guiding hand. All she had wanted was answers about her family’s deaths and she seemed no closer to answering that riddle than any of the new ones which had confronted her the last few days. Eventually, this whirl of thoughts became less and less distinct and she dropped off into a somewhat unsettled sleep.

*-*-*-*

The next morning, Susan woke to sunlight streaming into the cave. She looked around her to find herself almost alone. She could see only the guinea-pig curled up and still asleep near the fire, looking peaceful and unaware of any trouble or care. As Susan stirred and began to sit up, a sweet voice called out to her.

“I was wondering if you’d ever wake,” said the voice, which she now recognised as belonging to Gelinda. She turned to the direction of the voice and saw the small butterfly perched on one of the boulders in the cave.

“Where is everyone?” asked Susan sleepily.

“Fetching breakfast,” replied the butterfly. “Scaltard and Hedegar have gone to look for fresh vegetation and grubs. Vixel and the young Son of Adam left quite some time ago with the fishing rods to catch some fish for breakfast. Apparently you children of Adam like fresh meat.”

Susan brightened at the thought of meat, even if it was only fish. Having another human around was at least going to make food arrangements a little easier. Just then, a shadow was cast across the cave entrance and in walked David and Vixel followed closely by the hedgehog and tortoise. Apparently the morning’s search for food had proved a success on all parts. David and Vixel had caught a few small fish and David had already gutted a number of them. The animals watched in amazement as he stoked the fire and set up a stake on which to grill them. Vixel was astounded.

“Why would you want to burn them before eating them?” she asked.

“That’s how we eat all our meat,” replied David, we can’t digest it otherwise.

“It seems I was wrong about you liking fresh meat,” said Gelinda, “You are odd creatures indeed”.

Susan didn’t comment that the creatures’ diets were just as odd to them, as she watched the butterfly sucking nectar from some fresh flowers that Scaltard had brought her, Hedegar feasting on a leaf full of wriggling grubs and Scaltard munching on some roots and leaves. She was most interested in the latter and wondered if she would be able to make a soup with something like that for supper at some point.

When all were feeling much better from their “natural” breakfast, they turned back to the task at hand. Working out this next clue proved easier than Susan had feared. Hedegar said he had been thinking of it while hunting that morning and was sure he had figured out what the place was described. About a day’s journey from the cave, was a narrow defile or pass between the sides of two mesas. He had never ventured into this pass before, but he had heard that when you reached the far side it opened up into a panoramic view of the valley beyond Phairdayle. That place was known Phairgayte - the Gateway to Phairdayle. He was sure that was what the clue referred to. Phairgayte had somewhat legendary status in his family.

They discussed for a while whether to return to the meeting place or set out from there. Since the search was apparently going to take longer than they realised, they would need to prepare for a longer journey. But eventually it was decided that since they would be better off finding their food as they went along, they only really needed to take the fishing rods and fire-making equipment from the cave. Gelinda was sent off to take the news to Ratel and the others. And so by late morning all was ready and the small group set off from the cave of the Weeping Butterfly on the way to find the narrow path that led to the Gate of Fairdale.

*-*-*-*

As the five companions set off on their journey, they fell into a comfortable stride. Hedegar and Vixel lead the way, followed by the slower Scaltard. Susan and David as the faster walkers, though less used to the terrain, brought up the rear, taking turns to carry the guinea-pig. The sky was clear, as seemed standard in this country, and the sun low but warm. To begin with, they followed the river up from the waterfall. Susan and David chatted comfortably about various things.

Towards midday, they took a break among a clump of close thorn trees. There was some left over fish for the humans, and berries they had found on some bushes earlier on their walk. The animals scavenged for their own food.

Scaltard, who knew the way from this point better than the others, explained the way forward. Soon they would come to a tributary which they would follow away from the central river. This would lead them in the direction of the pass. He warned them that the ground along this tributary would become rougher - rockier and with sparser vegetation. No talking animals that he knew of lived in this region, but there were a number of dangerous creatures, most notably the rock adder. They would need to be on the alert.

After lunch, they set off once again and shortly came to where the tributary branched off. It wasn’t long before Susan realised what he had meant about the land being harsher. The sun was now high in the sky and blazing down rather fiercely. The ground underfoot was rougher with many loose pebbles.

At one point, they arrived at a steepish ledge. It wasn’t very high, but was something of a challenge, especially for the smaller creatures to scramble up. Vixel climbed it first, making use of some projecting rocks and her agility to get up with ease. David scrambled up next, with the guinea-pig in his back-pack, so he could help from above. Susan and Hedegar helped Scaltard from below, while David reached out to grab hold of him as soon as he could reach. Susan was to help Hedegar next, though he hesitated at leaving the woman till last.

“I’ll be fine,” Susan assured him, and he had just conceded, when they heard a rustling sound from behind them. Turning to the noise, both Susan and the hedgehog froze.

 The section below is not the most up-to-date version of this. It will be replaced with a new version shortly

No more than ten feet away from Susan was a large adder, its beady eyes fixed on her. She could tell from looking at those eyes that it was not intelligent, though there was something like witless hatred in them. She had heard snakes were unlikely to attack unless they felt threatened, but she didn’t fancy putting to the test what it considered threatening.

“Susan!” cried David, peering down from the ledge, seeing the snake and breaking off a branch from a nearby tree, “I’m coming!”

“Stay where you are foolish boy!” shouted the hedgehog. “Don’t make any sudden movements, or it will attack the first thing in its path.” That was Susan.

“What do I do?” asked Susan, growing a little white, but keeping as still as possible.

“No movements. Just keep still as you are,” he replied. The hedgehog wasn’t far from Susan, but a little behind her. The snake didn’t seem to have noticed him. If they kept still for long enough it might decide they were not a threat and leave. It would be a battle of wills.

Susan wished she had a dagger at her side, like the one she often carried in Narnia. But all she had was Peter’s pen knife in the back-pack she was wearing. The small blade would be little help against a snake, and reaching to get it from her bag would be dangerous. She tried to scan her mind back to her days as Narnia’s queen. Susan, though brave, was the least adventurous of her siblings, and couldn’t help but think her brothers, and possibly even Lucy, would have an idea right now.

“Isn’t there something I can do?” asked David in frustration at being so far away. “You might keep quiet so I can think,” answered the hedgehog, a little irritated. Susan hoped the two of them would not start a quarrel.

Suddenly, Susan felt a tickle in her nose, the last thing she needed. She tried to ignore the feeling, but that only made it worse.

“Hedegar…” she ventured, “I’m going to sneeze. I’m not sure I can hold it off much longer.”

“Okay…” answered the hedgehog, trying to keep a level head. “Try to do it as quietly as possible, and perhaps it won’t notice.”

Almost involuntarily, Susan moved her hand up to her nose, hoping that she could brush the feeling away. The movement was slight, but the snake noticed. Its eyes grew larger, and she was sure it was going to strike.

She saw its lower body begin to bunch up as though it was gathering for an attack. Hedegar had seen this too and realised they were out of time. Running from behind her, he made a rush at the snake, grabbing it below the neck with both forepaws. There was a scuffle and for a while all Susan could see was hedgehog spikes and snake scales rolling in the dust. Susan heard a loud scream, not realising it came from her own lips. The body of the snake was writhing angrily and she couldn’t see whether Hedegar was injured or not. It was impossible for him to have avoided a bite.

Suddenly the scuffling stopped. The snake’s body lay motionless flung to one side of the hedgehog. The hedgehog too lay still. Susan ran up to him, still in shock. His eyes were closed and there were bite marks and blood on his left forepaw and stomach. She could feel his heartbeat; it was feint but fast.

David, as soon as he had seen Hedegar rush forward, had scrambled down the ledge, and now ran up to Susan. She turned to him, crying, and he hugged her tightly.

“That silly hedgehog!” she exclaimed, when she had recovered enough to speak, pulling away slightly from David and turning back to the creature. “What did he do that for!”

“Susan!” said David, somewhat firmly, “It’s been done. What we need to do now, is work out if there’s a way to help him.”

Susan nodded, wiping her eyes. In the meantime, Vixel had also made her way back down the ledge, and come over to them.

“Vixel,” said David, turning to her, “What can we do for him? Is there some way we can draw out the poison?”

The fox frowned. “Adder poison is pretty deadly on small animals. It’s how they get their prey. But if we can find the right plants we could possibly draw it out. In the mean time we need bandages and water.”

“Oh Hedegar!” cried Susan, “What were you thinking? I’m bigger than you. If you’d let it strike me I could have handled the poison better.”

David came up next to Susan, putting his hand on Susan’s shoulder. “It was reckless of him, but I’m glad it wasn’t you. That Hedgehog is braver than me. I should have thought of something to do, but instead I stood there watching from a safe distance.”

“Don’t be a fool boy,” scolded Vixel. “You couldn’t have done anything from where you were without endangering Susan more. And I believe as I’m sure you do that were you in Hedegar’s position you would have been shown to be just as brave, and perhaps less foolish.” She looked down at her friend shaking her head, before sobering. “Susan, do you have water?”

Susan went over to her back-pack which she had dropped when she had run up to Hedegar and picked up the water-bottle. She also took out a handkerchief from her coat pocket. Bringing them back she unscrewed the lid of the bottle.

“Hedegar,” she whispered, “Can you hear me? Please drink some water.” For a while the hedgehog remained motionless, but then he opened his eyes.

“Susan,” he whispered back.

“Hedegar, you silly brave hedgehog!” she exclaimed.

“You all give me far more credit than I deserve,” he croaked, closing his eyes for a bit, and then opening them again.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” replied Susan. “Now be quiet, and drink. Then I will bathe your wounds. If only I had Lucy’s cordial!”

The hedgehog didn’t respond to her putting the water bottle up to his lips. “You don’t understand,” he then said.

“I understand perfectly,” replied Susan, “And if we have any chance of saving you, we need you to co-operate.”

“Do as she says,” put in Vixel, the worry in her voice obvious.

“No,” insisted the injured hedgehog, “You don’t understand. None of you. I thought at least you would know, Vixel.” The three looked at him oddly.

“He’s delirious,” said the fox, “the poison is starting to work.”

“No,” replied the hedgehog, trying to sit up, but giving in on feeling the pain in his stomach.

“You don’t understand. I’m a hedgehog. I didn’t take on the snake because I was brave or thought my life less important than Susan’s. I’m a hedgehog.” He stopped speaking and winced a little.

“Of course you’re a headgehog,” scolded Vixel. “And you are brave. Stop talking nonsense.”

“There’s something you need to know about hedgehogs,” added Hedegar, still struggling, but his voice getting a little steadier. “I thought everyone knew it, but I was wrong. We’re immune to snake poison.”

The three standing next to him all looked at one another in disbelief. Was he telling the truth or was it the poison speaking? Regardless, he was clearly hurting.

“I’ll have some water now,” concluded the hedgehog. Susan lowered the bottle to his lips and he drank.