Episode 10 - Chapter 20

 Fiona finds herself utterly transfixed by the sight of Raven. The more she looks at him, the more she sees: man in overalls, black bird, something dark and unnameable, a skull. Blood drips from his fingers, flames lap at his legs, the screams of untold lives engulf him. She finds she can't bare to look at him, but can't force herself to turn away.

She hears the crash of crockery breaking, followed by the harsh slapping noise of skin meeting skin in anger, which distracts her enough to pull her eyes away. She fixes her sight on a chair almost right in front of her, surrounded by the ghost of a tree, a rainbow of pastel tints shrouding its leaves. Another chair carries similar echoes, as does a table.

Around her, harsh words are exchanged between faces she's too anxious to look at, while tension thickens the air as it mounts. Her nausea still rolls through her in crippling waves, turning her stomach inside out. She barely hears Mary ask about the dwarves, but she manages to respond, hopefully setting Mary's fears to rest.

It's not until she hears Strauss' voice, soothing and unctuous, that she starts to get a grip on the world around her.

Episode 10 - Chapter 19

 “What utter poppycock,” Oak protested, “I've never heard such rubbish in all my years.”

I myself couldn't quite get over the sight of these three little men, all talking in unison, but only hearing the one voice. It made me feel a bit dizzy, to be honest.

“Let them finish,” Raven replied tersely, his patience obviously wearing a bit thin.

“I don't need to,” Oak responded, “This is not the time for fairy tales.”

“Maybe it is,” Raven said angrily, turning on him. “Maybe now is exactly the right time for listening to these fairy tales.” He paused to catch his breath. “This closed mind of yours,” he added, “It's no use to the Forest whatsoever.”

Meanwhile, the three midgets were doing something especially odd. One of them stood, bracing himself against the wall while a second climbed up him, to stand on his shoulders. They stayed like that for a moment, steadying themselves, then the third climbed up both of them. Before I could speak he put something on his head. Once more I stood aghast as some kind of silver liquid flowed down, covering all three of them until they disappeared inside some sort of hooded cape.

“If we may continue?” they asked from within their cowl.

Episode 10 - Chapter 18

Even in the midst of all that madness, that still came as something of a shock. The three dwar....midgets, I'm told they prefer the term midgets. Anyway, the three of them had gathered together by the face of the nomad, silently checking each other for injury and dusting themselves down. Raven and Oak were arguing, well bickering really, very much like rival siblings with a point to prove, or at least that's how they sounded to me. Raven was banging on about the house being 'something new', neither Warp nor Weave, which didn't make much sense to me. It didn't make much sense to Oak either, judging by the look on his face. I was sure they were about to come to blows when the midgets spoke.

And that was the surprise. Not that they spoke, but that they spoke together: three mouths intoned the words, but there was only one voice. Everything they said, they said in perfect unison. It was very disorientating, I can tell you.

“Once upon a time,” they began, “Everything was very clear cut: what was real was real, and belonged in the Warp. What was imagined wasn't real, and it lived in the Weave. There was a very clear line between the two states. Over the past century, that line has blurred, quite dramatically in places, to the point that it has become impossible to tell if some things are real or not!”

Episode 10 - Chapter 17

“Not in the.....?” I could hear Oak's voice, almost apoplectic with an odd mixture of confusion and frustration. Although my sight was beginning to clear, I still couldn't see him properly, but I could imagine his hard, round face getting redder and redder. “If we're not in the Warp,” he continued, “And this isn't the Weave. Tell me now, where the blazes are we?”

“I don't know,” Raven replied simply, “Somewhere new!”

“We're not in Kansas any more,” I chuckled to myself, but I kept my voice down. There was far too much tension in the room for stupid little jokes.

“Somewhere new?” Oak spat, “What do you mean, 'somewhere new'? There is no 'new'. What have you done, you stupid old bird?”

In reply, Raven just shrugged his shoulders.

On the far side of the room, the three midgets had gathered together, patting each other down, each checking the other two to make sure they were okay and intact.

“If we might be so bold,” they said in unison, the voice of Strauss deep and resonant with the weight of some authority, “We think we may be able to help answer your questions.”

Episode 10 - Chapter 16

“That's....khuh!....that's Strauss,” Fiona coughed, “He's....he's with me.”

“I see,” I said, looking at the dwarf brushing himself down, then at the one by the door, and finally the one crawling out from under Robert's chair. “What about these other two?”

“They're all....khuh!....khuh!....they're all Strauss,” she struggled to say. “They've got other....khuh!....other names.”

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, so I stayed silent. What surprised me most, I was beginning to find, was how readily I was able to accept all these strange goings on. There's a giant face in the living room wall. Okay. It belongs to a monk, lost for centuries in the imagination. Fine. Now there's a bunch of dwarves in your house, and they're all called Strauss. Whatever.

In all honesty, I think by that time I'd given up on anything making sense ever again.

“Have you taken leave of your senses, you daft old bird?” Oak leaned forward in his seat, looking accusingly at Raven. “Are you just going to let everything through?”

Raven sighed once more, his shoulders heavy with resignation. “Look around you, you daft old tree,” he said, “We're not in the Warp anymore!”

Episode 10 - Chapter 15

Those two tiny arms, sticking out between the Nomad's lips, were grasping at thin air. The Nomad itself looked very confused by this turn of events: forehead locked in a frown, eyes peering down trying to see. I think I half expected a giant hand to reach up through the floor to pluck this creature from its' mouth.

That didn't happen. Instead, out living room resounded with a grunt, a noise made by more than one throat, followed by a head and shoulders poking through those lips. I stood there, aghast, while that head spat something on the floor. I looked from that face to the midget by the door, and sure enough my suspicions were confirmed: the two faces were identical. What's more, the little chap by the door was also spitting, and similar sounds were coming from beneath Robert's chair.

The fellow emerging from the wall writhed a bit, inching his way through, until he was in a position to prise those jaws open. He did so with another grunt, another sound that came from more than one mouth, before his entire body tumbled onto the carpet in a heap.

“Oh my,” Mary said as he picked himself up and brushed at his knees. “Is it me, or are we being invaded by dwarves?”

Episode 10 - Chapter 14

Very gradually, my sight was coming back to me. I was beginning to be able to make out more than just shapes: I could see mum and dad, huddled together, staring at the wall. Oak too, I could make out, sat bolt upright on a chair. He looked, to me, like an attack dog ready to pounce at any second. Raven was out of my line of sight, but I could hear his voice behind me.

Then there was my wife, looking for all the world just like I felt: huddled over, chewed up and spat out. She was looking in Raven's direction, an uneasy mix of confusion and terror painted across her face. I tried to reach out to her, but her attention was trapped elsewhere. I think she was completely oblivious to everything but Raven.

Finally, there was the face in the wall, mouth closed with two short arms sticking out. At first I thought it must have eaten someone, which filled me with cold horror, but as I watched I saw those arms were trying to prise the lips open. I heard a grunt, a sound that came not only from the wall, but also from beneath my chair, and somewhere by the door. I would have looked round to find the source of those noises but I was transfixed by the sight of a head pushing between the lips to join its' arms.

Episode 10 - Chapter 13

Oak sat down, as Raven had commanded, looking for all the world like a child that had had his toys confiscated. Such a forlorn figure, I almost giggled.

“Now,” Raven began, addressing him, “It matters little what you think of me, but know this: Whatever I have done, I have always served the Forest.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” Oak countered. “Wandering off into the Weave when you feel like it,” he pointed at the Nomad, “Inviting its' creatures to stay in the Warp. What else have you done in your “service” to the Forest?”

Quite unexpectedly, the Nomad coughed, a funny little hiccuping noise. Its' calm face creased up in consternation, eyebrows locking into a frown. Its' eyes darted left and right, confusion settling in across its' features.

“I....” it began to say, but a face appeared in its' mouth. It closed its' mouth, but a tiny arm pushed through between those lips, quickly followed by a second.

Episode 10 - Chapter 12

“That's right,” Oak wheezed heavily, catching his breath, “That's just what...”

“Shut Up!” Raven bellowed at him, angrier than I think I'd ever seen him. Oak's stick was now in his hands. “Just....” he struggled to get words past his rage, “Just shut up. And listen,” he paused, gathering his wits, “Just listen, you might actually learn something. For as long as memory serves, the Forest....”

“Tinkerer?” the face of the Nomad demanded, interrupting him. “We have served, as requested. What more would you have of us?”

Raven stopped, sighed with resignation, then turned towards the Nomad's face. “The Forest thanks you once more for your service...”

“The Forest does no such thing,” Oak contradicted loudly, stepping forward.

In a flash, Raven had the stick pointed at him. “Silence,” he commanded, pointing at a chair. “Sit there. Do not move. Do not speak. Nod if you understand.”

Oak nodded, his face crimson, furious eyes looking daggers at Raven and the Nomad.

“Thank you for your loyal service,” Raven continued, “You are free to leave, but you may wish to stay. What happens next is as much about your world as ours.”

Episode 10 - Chapter 11

Everything was just a blur. I was blinking repeatedly, trying to get my eyes to focus so I could see what was going on, but I think that just made them worse.

“Tinkerer....?” a new voice demanded. Except it wasn't really a voice as much as it was a sensation. Sure I heard the word, but more than that I felt it rumble through me, deep and resonant, coming up from the floor, through me legs, in the depths of my stomach.

Oak shrieked in surprise, and then there seemed to be a great commotion. Something big shot past me, faster than I could imagine, followed by strained grunting noises.

“Give me that,” Raven hissed through gritted teeth, followed by the sounds of laboured, struggling breaths. Before me I could just about make out two bodies, locked together. A loud thump was followed by the clatter of crockery smashing on the floor.

“Careful!” Mum's voice declared, then the sound of a slap, skin on skin, then nothing but heavy breathing.

“Now,” Raven said after a few moments, “Time for you to listen.”

Episode 10 - Chapter 10

“You're back now,” Fiona hears Raven's words, calm and reassuring, “Just take a few moments to get used to it.”

Her hands are gripped tight in his, but she doesn't mind, it gives her an anchor, something to hold on to, to keep her connected to this world. She sits quietly, allowing the world to settle around her. She can hear voices, conversation, words dipped in tension, but she can't make sense of any of it: to her ears it's just noise.

Once her breathing has returned to normal, she tries opening her eyes. At first it feels like a mistake, nausea slamming in to her like a runaway bus, throwing her whole body back into fits of retching. Nothing she sees wont stay still, everything she looks at vibrates, echoes with rainbow trails and ghost shapes. In front of her a wooden chair, changing before her eyes, adopting the myriad forms of all chairs, spectral branches reaching out from the tree it once was.

She looks at Raven, pleading, but his eyes are elsewhere. What she sees is worse: a man is brown overalls, a black bird the size of a horse, something unnameable in a cowl, axe in hand, all where Raven should be.

Episode 10 - Chapter 9

I let out a gasp as I realised what was happening behind Oak. Raven chose that moment to step forward, grabbing Oak's attention.

“Whatever accusation you're getting round to making,” he said, “Why don't you just come out and say it?”

“Accusations?” Oak exclaimed in mock surprise, “Great mountains no, my dear Corvus, nothing of the sort.”

“It's Raven,” he snarled, his increasing anger visible in clenched fists.

“Raven, yes, of course,” Oak smiled without a hint of warmth or humour. “I am merely forced to wonder how it is you seem able to come and go in the Weave without renouncing the Forest.”

Behind him, the Nomad's face was clearly visible in the wall. It blinked once, then again, lips moving silently. It was almost as if it was confused.

“Tinkerer....?” it asked in that deep, rumbling voice it had.

“What...?” Oak shrieked, his whole body twitching with shock as he half turned. That's when Raven shot forward, faster than we'd seen him move before, hands outstretched to grab Oak.

Episode 10 - Chapter 8

“I'm not sure I like your tone,” Raven said to Oak, “What is it you're trying to suggest?”

“Nothing,” was Oak's reply, delivered, I swear, in a playful, sing-song voice. That stick remained pointing at the three of us. “You know,” he continued, “There are those who say you've gone soft. After your last waltz in the Weave, when you were defeated by....what was it now?”

“Does it matter?” Raven clearly wasn't amused by the conversation.

I myself was transfixed by the liquid wall behind Oak. Amidst the frenetic undulations and popping bubbles, what I'd first thought was a dome had started to look a little more elongated, and certainly part of something much bigger.

“We never really got to the bottom of that one, did we?” Oak asked, “The Mighty Corvus, the Great Leveller, defeated by ideas? It doesn't sound that likely, does it?”

At that moment Mary gasped, a sound full of recognition, and I could see why. Behind Oak, the shinning liquid wall was giving way to giant facial features as the face of the Nomad pushed through.

Episode 10 - Chapter 7

If I really concentrated, I found I could get the world to stop spinning around me. I still couldn't focus properly, but the waves of nausea were beginning to subside. I could just about make out the shape of my wife, doubled over and coughing furiously, but I felt relieved just to see her there. I wanted to reach out and touch her arm, just to connect with her somehow, but my limbs were like jelly so for the time being I had to be satisfied with knowing she was okay.

“Raven is just fine,” Raven said behind me, “What are you implying?”

“Not implying, merely inquiring,” the other voice replied. I tried to turn to look at the speaker, gulping down a deep breath to counter the terrible stomach churning sensations that came with the movement. I couldn't make out much: a vaguely familiar figure with something in its' hands, standing in front of a silverish wall that was reaching out to grab him.

Episode 10 - Chapter 6

My husband and I huddled together in the corner of the room, standing just behind Raven while Oak pointed that stick at us, his eyes flicking between us and the waking children. Both of them were still trying to breath properly, their laboured breaths punctuated by occasional coughing fits.

“Will you just stop for a minute and listen to me,” Raven said to Oak, “I know it seems very straight forward to you, but believe me it's not, not at all. There's information the Forest....”

“Just be quiet,” Oak commanded, branch twitching once more, “And step away from those two!”

“But...” Raven began to reply, stepping to one side.

“Quiet Corvus!” Oak bellowed, “Or Raven, or do you have a new name now that you've had another wander in the Weave?”

The ripples in the wall behind him kept growing, moving faster and faster. Air bubbles began to appear and pop silently between each little wave. In the middle of it all, shadows in the water formed and danced around the central dome. Whatever it was in there, it was coming.

Episode 10 - Chapter 5

“You heard me,” Oak barked once more, “Move away.” He pointed to the corner of the room with that bloody stick of his. “Over there,” he said, “All three of you.”

My wife stood up slowly, turning to face him, her hands raised in surrender. “Now Mister Oak,” she said, “You have to let us make sure the children are okay.” I couldn't believe how calm she seemed, her voice suggesting she was just changing her order with the milkman, not addressing some kind of supernatural lunatic.

Behind him the wall shimmered, tiny ripples beginning to emanate from its' centre. “On the contrary,” he said, quite smugly I thought, “I don't have to do anything. Now step back.” He gestured with that stick once more. “All of you, leave them alone.”

“Stop being such a bloody fool,” Raven commanded, “I've known saplings that would handle this situation better.”

“Quiet!” Oak snapped. “Stand back, keep your hands where I can see them, and shut up.”

The ripples in the wall behind him were getting a little more agitated by this point, as something like a dome seemed to be pushing its' way through.

Episode 10 - Chapter 4

I felt drunk.

Not 'had one too many' drunk, when the world feels a bit blurred and dizzy, but 'ten times over the limit' drunk, with the house spinning around me, coming in and out of focus, unable to even sit up properly. Part of that was a twisting feeling in the pit of my stomach, threatening to overwhelm me with convulsions and retching.

Mum was crouched beside me, stroking my forehead, which kind of helped until it didn't and I found myself coughing and retching all over again.

“What can we do for him?” she pleaded with Raven. I could see her face clearly, but the rest of her washed away, indistinct from the room.

“Give him time to recover,” Raven replied from somewhere behind me, his voice so clear and strong, a fixed point in the room's turbulence.

“That's quite enough,” another voice said, equally strong and assured. I couldn't quite put a name to it, but I knew I'd heard it before. “You three,” it commanded, “Stand away from them.”

Episode 10 - Chapter 3

“Just a minute,” my husband said, looking like he'd just been slapped in the face with a wet fish, “Did you just say something about a war?”

“I did,” Raven replied grimly, his eyes firmly on Oak. I was sure he was about to say more when Fiona gasped desperately, her face full of panic, sucking at the air while her fingers clawed at her throat.

Raven grabbed her hands in his, holding them tight as he moved to pat her back gently. “Take it easy, girl,” he spoke to her calmly, “You're back now, just take a few moments to get used to it.” He stroked her back in a tender, circular motion, her hands still grasped in his, all the while still watching Oak.

“What kind of war?” Edward asked, a niggling worried tone just creeping into his voice.

Raven didn't reply at first, keeping his attention focused on Fiona. Slowly, gradually, the fear melted away from her face as the tension lifted from her shoulders.

“What kind of war?” Raven said eventually, “I don't know. The usual, messy, destructive kind I should think.”

Episode 10 - Chapter 2

So there we all were, gathered in our living room. Fiona and Robert had woken from whatever sleep or coma or....whatever you want to call it. I still don't know, even to this day. I'm supposed to say they'd returned from the Weave, but....well, that still sounds more than a little fanciful to me.

I have to say I was happy to see them both conscious, that in itself felt like the restoration of a little bit of sanity. Just a little bit, mind, because the rest of the room was still gripped by utter madness. Oak had somehow fixed that blasted twig of his, and was waving it around like some kind of Dirty Harry character from a film or something. Behind him, something odd was happening to the wall. It had somehow changed colour: our nice floral wallpaper replaced by....I can only describe it as a puddle. But a vertical puddle, if you get my meaning, just hanging there, ripples rolling across its surface.

On top of all that, there seemed to be these little people, midgets or dwarves or some such, I don't know what to call them. But they were popping up all over the place. And to cap it all, Raven had started talking about a war!

  

Episode 10 - Chapter 1

The recruits return from their refreshment break to take their places for the final session of the day. The brightest of them are obviously buzzing from what they've learned so far, alive with wonder at a world unseen, eager for more. Notebooks are open, pens are poised, twitching with anticipation, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

There's a second group, muttering with scepticism: they've heard some tall tails but seen little proof. Some wonder if they've wasted their time, if they're in the wrong place, perhaps this just isn't for them. The advert had been simple enough: “Open minded, imaginative free thinkers wanted to change the world” it said, coupled with an address, date and time. It had said nothing of fairy stories. They tap their pens and doodle in margins, hoping that something more substantial might be revealed.

An expectant hush descends upon the room as the course leaders return, an elderly couple accompanied by a younger man. “I hope you all enjoyed your tea,” the woman says, smiling, “Now then, where were we....”

Ninth Interlude - Part Twenty Six

The following morning he waits for the town's church bells to stop ringing, the strides purposefully into the civic centre. He knows that today is a feast day for some saint or other, so the town's adult population will be safely occupied with prayers and giving thanks. In the heart of the town he stops and, producing a pipe from multi-coloured coat, starts to play.

In a matter of moments the first face appears, peeking gingerly from behind a street corner. When he sees those eyes, bright with wonder, he dances a little jig, right there on the spot. The child edges forward, cautious but curious, emerging from the shadows slowly. He jumps to dance another jig, then looks at the child directly and nods. The child, a young boy, tries to copy his move, cavorting awkwardly but giggling and happy.

He smiles and claps, but continues to play as more young faces appear, more children crowd around him, more young limbs prance and strut, the morning air filling with innocent, bubbling laughter. Once he's gathered quite the crowd, he turns, jigs once more, then begins to lead them in a promenade through deserted streets. They follow willingly, without any questions, this young happy train, copying his every move as best they can.

Out past the edge of the town they go, dancing and laughing, skipping and whirling, until the town of Hamelin is far, far behind them. Not long after they reach a fork in the road. To the left, the road continues off through the trees as it has always done. To the right is a new road that wasn't there yesterday, sparkling with every colour of a rainbow, leading into woodland that twinkles and shines, plucked from a dream.

“Good day to you, little piper,” the strangely dressed gentleman greets him, appearing from nowhere. “Come now, in your checkered coat, with your bright young entourage,” he bends almost double, pointing up the rainbow road, “And welcome to your new home.”

Ninth Interlude - Part Twenty Five

The speaker turns out to be a tall thin gentleman, clad in the strangest of wardrobes. His tunic is white, fastened at the front by the tiniest of buttons, tucked into dark breeches, creased at the front, held up by the flimsiest of belts. His surcoat is far shorter than usual, cut from the same dark cloth, hanging barely below his waist. At his neck, a colourful cloth, tied in a knot, trailing end dancing in the breeze.

“What say you, good rat?” the gentleman asks again, “What news have you for such a fine day?”

“Begone,” he replies, not moving, “Leave me in peace to reflect upon my own wretched nature.”

“Wretched...?” the man begins, then asks “What possible events could have transpired to bring you to such desolation?”

He raises his head to look at his hands before offering them to the newcomer. “There is blood on these paws,” he says forlornly, “The blood of my species, the stain of genocide.”

“Goodness gracious,” the man replies, taking a seat nearby. “Why don't you tell me all about it. A trouble shared, after all...”

Without knowing why, he does just that, recounting events in minute detail, explaining his actions as he does.

“Then you did what you did for the good of your kind?” the man asks when he stops speaking.

He nods sadly in reply.

“Then your future is clear,” the man says brightly, “You must ensure their sacrifice is never forgotten, you must make their deaths the stuff of legend.”

Ninth Interlude - Part Twenty Four

He quickly turns tail to run as projectile rocks rain down around him. He scuttles back up the road for a short distance, ducking and weaving as more stones hit the ground. At the first opportunity, a break in the undergrowth, he leaps to his left, crossing a ditch and off into the trees. He doesn't stop running there, following a path deep into the woods, continuing his haste until the shouts and jeers behind him have faded to silence.

He stumbles on, through the trees, following an overgrown seldom used path. Fear grips him tight, mixed with remorse for what he's just done, and shock that he did it. But he had no choice, did he? He did what had to be done, for his species, to protect future generations. That was right, wasn't it?

He finds himself in a narrow clearing, water rushing near by, and perches himself on a fallen log, finally allowing his head to sink into his hands. How long he sits there he doesn't know, lost as he is in the maze of his own guilt. He only starts to take notice of his environment when a voice disturbs his peace.

“How now little rat,” it says, “What's made you so miserable on such a fine day?”

Ninth Interlude - Part Twenty Three

When they finally see him approaching in the distance, the people of the town move to stand shoulder to shoulder across the entire width of the road. The closer he gets, the more nervous they begin to look, tools are moved from hand to hand, anxious glances exchanged, chatter stilted and edgy. While he's still a reasonable distance from them, one of their number steps forward.

“That's near enough, piper,” the man shouts, “Just turn yourself around and be on your way.”

“Pay me my due,” he calls in reply, “And I will gladly begone from this territory.”

“Pay you for what?” a second man cries, “To take your pets away?”

“What pets?” he asks, “What are you talking about?”

“Sending your rats into our town,” the first man shouts, “We see your game, and we will not pay. Begone now, there is no welcome for you here.”

“Begone!” a third man yells, snatching a rock from the roadside to hurl at him.

“Begone!” Several men break from the line, echoing their neighbour as they copy his actions, sending more rocks down the road.