Chapter II "In the Enemy's Home."

 

The little one didn't realize the danger he was in. He was dreaming of his mother, who had recovered, and of his father, who had returned from a long journey with a snow elf. Toto was about to touch the elf to see if he was real when, suddenly, somehow, he transformed into a monstrous harpy who spoke to him incomprehensibly. The voice grew louder and louder, until finally Toto realized it was a dream and that someone, or something, was standing over him, telling him to wake up. He awoke to find a large, cruel bird-woman above him, and that he was in some dingy cell that seemed carved into the rock. The darkness was dim, illuminated by a small candle, which was enough to help Toto figure out where he was. He remembered one of his father's stories, about how he had to escape the underground kingdom of the harpies that had imprisoned him. His father told him that this was one of his most dangerous adventures, one in which he could have lost his life.

The little one, urged on by the harpy, quickly recovered and rose to his feet. As it later turned out, the bird-woman was one of the guardians watching over him, and her name was Grytha. She threw Toto a piece of meat and ordered him to eat it all, telling him in the Druidic tongue that he would have no more today.

Food was the last thing Toto wanted at that moment. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to scream, but he thought that if he was in the harpies' underground kingdom, no one would hear him anyway, and he might only enrage its inhabitants. And as long as he was their prisoner, he had no intention of getting in their way. He knew that if they hadn't harmed him so far, they might let him live. At least, he hoped so.

So he decided to first see what his situation was. He approached the long iron bars and stuck his head through them as far as he could. What lay beyond took his breath away.

Toto saw what looked like an underground city, illuminated by thousands of enormous candles. In the center of the city was a large, circular square, through which harpies were walking briskly, leading figures before them. The little one looked closer and saw... the figures were elves. He was about to call out to Methaila, whom he saw there, but then he remembered where he was.

Along the square stood some low huts, built of wood and fern leaves, probably harpy dwellings. On the walls, and what terrified Toto most, enormous nests, shaped like oblong baskets, seemed to be glued to them. Inside sat little harpies, to which their mothers occasionally flew with something in their beaks. What they were, the little one couldn't see. He only hoped it wasn't druid meat.

The little ones, sensing their nurses, immediately squawked and pushed their way to the front, making sure they had enough food. At the edge of the square, opposite Thoth's cell, stood a large palace, for some reason obscured by darkness. The little one guessed that this must be the queen's residence. He wasn't sure what she looked like. Whether she looked like the other harpies, or perhaps something more hideous.

Realizing the dire situation he was in, and that he might never see the surface again, and most terrifyingly, his mother, the druid sat on the edge of the cell, in the farthest corner, and wept. Toto, who usually escaped trouble thanks to his friend Kyerion, was helpless this time, for what could a druid alone do against a whole horde of harpies? Only a miracle could bring him home.

The little one wiped the tears from under his eyes and began praying to the god Tes. He believed he would surely help him. When he finished his prayer and calmed down a bit, he looked at the meat. It didn't look particularly appetizing, but if he wanted to survive and stay strong, he had to eat something. Especially since he only received food once a day. He approached the meat and began examining it. It didn't look like the kind his mother cooked. So he closed his eyes and began to eat it, taking small bites. It had an unpleasant taste, which he gradually grew accustomed to.

The next day, when he woke up, he saw the meat already lying in front of him. Reluctantly, but under duress, he ate half and saved the other half for later. After breakfast, he walked over to the bars and began to observe life in the harpy kingdom. Just like yesterday, hungry harpies were calling for food, and harpies were passing through the square, leading elves. The little one wondered where they could be taking his friends, but nothing sensible came to mind. He was about to return to his bed, made of hay, having grown tired of watching the monotonous lives of the birdwomen, when he suddenly saw an elven hand pushing through the bars and thrusting a note at him. At first, Toto, dazed, didn't react, but after a moment, he realized what was happening and quickly picked up the note from the ground and put it in his pocket.

The little boy sat down under the candle in his cell and, making sure no one was watching, took out the note and began to examine it. It was written in a mysterious script, but Toto knew it was elven writing. He looked closer, unable to read much in the dim light. After a moment, he saw that the note read: "

I will come tonight. Be alert and do not sleep!

" The little boy recognized Kyerion's writing. So his friend would come tonight and free him. Toto was beside himself with joy. Finally, he would no longer have to eat this disgusting meat, and he would see his mother!

Suddenly, there was a great commotion in the square. All the harpies lined up toward the palace, as if waiting for someone, someone important to them. When they were all lined up and a deep silence fell (even the little ones fell silent), someone began beating a drum, and suddenly a figure began to emerge from the palace onto the large balcony. Toto guessed who it was.

"She's the queen," he said to himself.

The little one was right; the ruler of the harpies emerged from the palace. She was much larger than her sisters and possessed enormous wings adorned with gold and precious stones. Like all the harpies, she wore no robes, and a golden crown, radiating a blinding light, was perched on her head. When she appeared in all her glory, her subordinates began to applaud, then fell silent at the sight of the queen's raised right wing.

The ruler began to speak in a language incomprehensible to Toto. He only understood the words: ogres, cyclopes, cerberi, fiends, demons, behemoths, basilisks, hydras, gorgons, and medusas, which were apparently universal to all languages. Finally, the queen uttered the word Toto had seen on his house—GRETHORIES—whereupon all the harpies began to cheer for the queen and shout:

"GRETHORIES! GRETHORIES! GRETHORIES! GRETHORIES!..."

The little one didn't know what to think of the whole situation. He did know, however, that the peoples mentioned by the queen and the word GRETHORIES meant nothing good.

After the queen's speech and the cheers, all the harpies bowed low, and their queen hid in her palace. Toto decided to ask his guard, Grythia, who had just returned to guarding the prisoner, the meaning of this mysterious word, repeated in unison by her brethren.

"Excuse me, Grythia?" the Little One grunted, as talking to the harpy filled him with dread, for what could happen if his guard didn't feel like answering questions?

"Could you tell me what the word GRETHORIES means?" The Little One uttered the word, then moved away from the bars so that the harpy couldn't reach him with her wing if she wanted to do something to him. But Grythia turned to Thoth and, as if pleased with something, replied:

"What do you mean, you don't know what GRETHORIES means?" The guard laughed at the prisoner.

"But that word means WAR!"

The Little One couldn't get the words out at first, but to conceal his displeasure, he replied calmly:

"Thank you, Grythia."

"WAR? How so? They signed a pact." The little one tried to answer questions he could only imagine. Could the harpies be trying to take over Erythia, or perhaps all the continents? He supposed the whispers and laughter behind him might be a warning to him, just like the sign on his house. If only he knew someone was trying to warn him. He could then run to the capital and tell the council. And he, foolishly, complained that someone was laughing at him.

Toto wondered who could warn him against war. Could it be one of the harpies? He couldn't answer that question anymore, for he didn't know the answer, and besides, he was very sleepy. He adjusted the hay and the pillow, which was made from a rolled-up old robe, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

He was dreaming of the beautiful lands he wandered through with his father, when suddenly he heard a call coming from outside the cell. Quickly, still not fully awake, he remembered that he wasn't supposed to sleep that night, because Kyerion was coming to him.

The little one got up and saw darkness enveloping him and a single candle lit somewhere in the distance, probably near the queen's palace. The voice repeated the calls:

"Toto, are you there?" the elf called in a whisper, so that the other guards on guard that night wouldn't hear.

"Kyerion, is that you?" the disoriented Little One asked, also in a whisper.

"Yes, it's me. Hurry, we don't have a moment to lose. The bars are open. Follow me quietly and carefully.

" "How did you manage to free yourself?" Toto wiped his sleepy eyes and slapped his cheek to wake himself up completely.

"I'll tell you the whole story later, as soon as we get to the surface." Kyerion opened the bars and moved something large lying on the ground.

"What is it? Could it be Grythia?" Toto asked.

"And who is Grythia?" Okay, never mind, there's no time for explanations, what lies here is your guardian. I've incapacitated her with salicylic powder, which puts her to sleep for a few hours, so hurry.

Toto carefully stepped past the harpy's body, then grabbed his friend by the back of his cloak to avoid getting lost. Kyerion led the little one through some corridors, water dripping from the ceilings, right onto the druid's head.

"What about my mother?" Toto asked with sadness in his voice.

"You have nothing to worry about. Theodorus is taking care of her in the capital," Kyerion replied quickly, and saw the relief on his friend's face.

After a short time, walking very quietly and quickly, the friends found themselves in a large cave. There, the other elves Kyerion had freed were already waiting for them. Toto was happy to see his friends safe and sound, and especially to see Methaila, who was now helping the older elves recover from the exhausting days.

"We're not safe here," Kyerion said to everyone. "As long as it's night, the harpies won't notice we're gone. Your guards will surely sleep until morning, that is, until their replacements relieve them. But now we must leave as quickly as possible. Methaila, hurry, we have no time to waste; Theodorus is already waiting for us in the capital."

The elves listened to their savior with a grateful expression on their faces. Hearing the urging, Thoth's friend ordered them to follow Kyerion, who was already waiting at the cave's exit. The little one, seeing the king and queen's exhaustion, helped them stand and ordered them to lean on his shoulders. Methaila's father initially disobeyed the druid, saying he was fully recovered, but after a moment, he evidently realized he was mistaken and complied with Thoth's command.

When everyone reached the surface, they eagerly inhaled the fresh air that was sorely lacking in the harpies' underground kingdom. The little one swore to himself that he would never go underground again, even if they offered him a whole chest of gold.

On their way back, the royal couple regained their strength and thanked Thoth for his help. They then went to their subordinates to support each other and share their impressions of the past few days. The little one asked his savior once more how he had managed to save them. Kyerion, who was almost running to get everyone back to the city as quickly as possible, told him step by step how it had happened:

"The day the harpies kidnapped all the elves, I was sitting on the bank of the Tessa River, fishing, when suddenly I heard the screams of elven women coming from the forest. I quickly put down my fishing rod and ran to our settlement to see what had happened. When I arrived, no one was there. The sight of the ruined and empty kingdom terrified me greatly. So I quickly ran to my parents' room to check if they were gone too. On my mother's nightstand, which stood next to her bed, lay a note written in careless handwriting that harpies had invaded their kingdom, and that if no one was left behind, it meant they had all been kidnapped. I immediately guessed that those filthy birds had taken my kin to their dungeons. I had to prepare somehow to rescue them. So I ran to Theodorus to tell him about the incident and to seek his advice. At first, he held me back, but apparently, seeing my stubbornness and determination, he realized his attempts to stop me would be futile. He gave me a powder that I later used to lull the harpies into sleep, and showed me old plans of the harpies' underground kingdom. Thanks to these plans, I was able to find you and reach their lair unnoticed, passing through secret passages, which we also used to return. Giving the powder to your guards wasn't even that difficult, as I secretly poured it into containers of water, which they drank from time to time. Later, seeing that my plan was working, I infiltrated your cells and first freed the elves, and then you. You already know the rest, so I won't tell you.

Kyerion quickened his already brisk pace and, at the end of his story, added,

"You know. This time, for the first time, I was afraid, but don't tell anyone."

Toto realized what a difficult adventure it had been for his friend. He was very grateful that he had saved him yet again. He decided that if everything returned to normal, he would throw a grand party in Kyerion's honor. But for now, he would aid him in everything he did to defend Erythia from the harpies.