War in Colgilor Read online

  This is the third in the

  Rainbow Quest series

  First published 2019

  Copyright © Colin Gibbins 2019

  The right of Colin Gibbins to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.

  Published under licence by The Self-Publishing Partnership, 7 Green

  Park Station, Bath BA1 1JB

  www.selfpublishingpartnership.co.uk

  ISBN printed book: 978-1-83952-087-7

  ISBN e-book: 978-1-83952-088-4

  Cover design and character illustrations by Leigh Lovett

  Internal design by Andrew Easton

  This book is printed on FSC certified paper

  Printed and bound in the UK

  Contents

  War in Colgilor

  WAR IN COLGILOR

  With the continued threat from the Dark Wizard joining forces with the two evil witches, Baba Yelka and her sister Baba Madea, the Great Wizard and the Grey Elf had realised war between good and evil could not be avoided. The biggest danger came when they discovered that the witches were raising the corpses that had been laid to rest in the Darkside to create an army of Zombies, and they could not be killed with any of the weapons that existed in Colgilor. But the Great Wizard knew of the legendary weapons that had been forged by the Dwarfs many, many years ago for the Gods who were at war with an army of Giants. After the Gods had defeated the Giants they decided the weapons were too dangerous, and in the wrong hands could wreak havoc in Colgilor.

  So they put the weapons in their magic boat and sank it in the poisoned river in the valley of fire never again to be used. The Great Wizard knew the only hope of defeating the Zombie army was to retrieve the weapons. Again Shaun Kealing, the young boy who had proved himself over and over again to be a hero, was given the task of travelling to the land of the Dragons and entering the valley of fire to bring back the weapons. Armed with the Grey Elf’s magic shroud and Thor’s magic hammer, he set off and after many dangerous encounters on the way arrived at the valley, and, using the magic shroud which was indestructible, entered the poisoned river through the flames.

  But he was unable to free the boat which was anchored to the bottom of the river by the magic ribbon, the Gleipnir, which had been forged by the Dwarfs to shackle the huge, monstrous Wolf Fenrir that had threatened the Gods.

  Shaun ran back on the bank side pondering what to do when the face of the Great Wizard appeared on the rock face nearby, but his hopes were dashed when the Wizard told him his magic could not free the spell that had been cast on the boat by the Gods.

  Their attention was diverted to the loud, rumbling sound which reverberated through the valley, and the heat haze slowly began to disintegrate and disappear; both Shaun and the Great Wizard watched in awe as the rumbling slowly subsided and the sky above turned deep crimson before gradually fading to a heavenly, radiant rose colour and the valley was filled with a strange, enchanting atmosphere, so serene and alluring. Their eyes were drawn skyward as though hypnotised, and they watched in disbelief as the sky parted and opened up, revealing two heavenly figures dressed in white, flowing robes and their long, white hair and beards fluttering in a light breeze. They were standing on a large, white cloud; both were holding ornate, golden staffs and each had a golden halo circling above their heads.

  Suddenly the stillness was broken by a loud, velvety-sounding voice. ‘Welcome to our land, o Great Wizard. I am Thor, God of thunder, and this is Odin, King of the Gods. Like you, we have always battled against evil and we know why you are here. We have been impressed with your choice of this young boy to carry out your orders and the hopes of the inhabitants of your land. He is the only one ever to have reached our sacred land. We have followed his journey and, although he is not of this world, he risks his life for you. What is even more remarkable is that he carries your magic ring and my magic hammer and yet he never uses them in anger or fear; not once when he and his two friends were in dire danger did he kill or destroy, but he used them to protect himself and friends. But you must understand the weapons you seek are so dangerous, and in the wrong hands could cause total destruction of the whole land of Colgilor. These weapons were forged to protect the Gods from the evil giants who lived in giants’ land because they threatened to kill us and rule our world. Without these weapons we ourselves would have perished, but we saw how destructive they could be, so after the battle and the giants were slain, we laid them in the flaming valley, never to be used again. The hammer Mjolner was the most valued weapon, as it was used to defend both the Gods and humans from the giants, and so it was decided to give it to the dwarfs in your area of Colgilor for safe keeping and to protect the good inhabitants from evil.’

  Odin raised his golden staff. ‘I, too, have total faith in your selfless reasons and agree that without these weapons you will perish as we would have done against the giants. So I think we should allow you to take them back with you.’ Thor stepped forward. ‘Yes, I agree, but before you get too excited we must insist on certain conditions. Firstly, six of our dwarfs will travel with you and they alone will be allowed to wield the swords. Secondly, the boat and the weapons will remain in the care of the Great Wizard. You will also take four Centaurs with you: they are the finest of archers and you will use them to protect the boat. And lastly, only you, Great Wizard, will be allowed to use Odin’s spear Gungnir, and it must remain in your possession at all times.’

  ‘Thank you so much,’ said Shaun, his face beaming with relief. ‘We will carry out your conditions with a happy heart and I am confident we will conquer our evil enemies as you did, but there is one problem. How do I release the boat when I get back down there?’

  Both Odin and Thor roared with laughter as they looked at each other. ‘Your courage is unbelievable: even the legendary heroes of times gone by would struggle to enter the flaming valley even once, but that won’t be necessary,’ said Thor. ‘Take out my hammer and throw it down into the flames.’ Shaun glanced over to the Great Wizard. ‘But I really need to take it back to King Duvall: I gave him my word.’ Again Thor roared with laughter. ‘I don’t want to fight you for it, but if I wanted to take the hammer back I could. Just trust me as we are willing to trust you.’ Shaun smiled awkwardly and a little embarrassed. ‘I’m so sorry, it’s just so important.’ He took out the hammer and kissed it before throwing it down into the flames.

  There followed several minutes of anxious silence with Shaun’s stomach doing somersaults and his heart racing in anticipation. He watched as the flames slowly died down and fizzled out to reveal the boat slowly ascending and finally coming to rest on the plateau a few metres away. Shaun jumped up and down with a combination of relief and euphoria, and to add to his joy his hammer flew out of the boat into his hand. Even the Great Wizard beamed with pride as he watched Shaun do a little jig, and he attempted to join in.

  ‘We will be forever in your debt,’ said the Great Wizard, ‘and we will not let you down. I will personally return with the boat and weapons after we have vanquished our enemies.’ He bowed his head in respect and turned to Shaun. ‘I will see you back at my cavern: have a safe journey.’ With that, his face slowly faded from the hillside.

  ‘Well, what are you waiting for? Be on your way. We will follow you every step of the journey.’ ‘We have one more gift,’ said Thor. ‘This amulet will protect you and give you extra powers against evil.’ He held the amulet above his head and a bolt of light
ning hurtled down from the sky and entered the amulet. Thor threw it down towards Shaun; it floated down and wrapped itself around his arm. It might have been his imagination, but as soon as the amulet touched his arm he felt a huge surge of inner strength and confidence flow through his body. He climbed on-board and bowed his head to the Gods, but before he could set off, Odin raised his staff. ‘I, too, have a parting gift. You wished your Dwarf friends back home could survive in sunlight. I grant that wish: all they need to do is touch your amulet.’ As he spoke he lifted his golden staff and pointed it down: a bright light swirled around the staff before twisting and turning down and disappearing into the amulet. ‘All those that join your fight will be blessed with that and all their future generations.’ Both the Gods raised their staffs and floated away, and the sky above them closed up, leaving Shaun gazing up. Once they had disappeared he pointed the ring forward and the boat slowly took off, rising above the hills and floating steadily onward across the beautiful paradise of the rolling hills, silver streams dancing in the sunlight, and the birds’ choir ringing through the valley. It looked so serene and magnificent on his journey there, but now flying above the scenery was even more astounding as he passed the forests, mountains and breathtaking waterfalls. Soaring skyward, he approached the curtain of flames and breezed over the top into the volcanic area.

  He remained much higher than his journey there, staying on full alert as he swept in a wide berth around the fiery, unpredictable volcanoes with their scorching gases and plumes of molten lava. He was filled with a huge sense of pride and relief as he passed the last volcano with the border in his sight, and he screamed with delight as he spotted the wooden cabin. He carefully steered the boat between two hills, landing on a flat area a short distance away. Scrambling out of the boat he climbed down a wooden ladder which was attached to the side. ‘Ava! Louis!’ he cried out, a huge grin on his face, but inwardly he was praying they hadn’t turned back. He waited but there was no reply. He ran up to the cabin and flung the door open, but his head dropped and the grin was replaced with a grimace as there was no sign of his friends.

  He turned and raced back to the boat, but before he could take off, Louis and Ava emerged from a nearby hillside. They looked up and burst into floods of tears while laughing uncontrollably at the same time. Shaun quickly jumped back down and they ran to meet each other, their arms open wide. They jumped around, hugging and kissing, screaming, laughing and crying in a frenzy of emotions. ‘We had given up hope,’ Louis said, wiping his eyes. ‘We agreed to give you two more days before going back to try and find Pan.’ Ava was so overwhelmed she couldn’t speak; she just hung onto Shaun, squeezing him so tight and feeling she should never again let him out of her sight.

  Louis glanced over to the boat. ‘The weapons, they are in there.’

  Shaun nodded. ‘Yes, and have I got a tale to tell you!’ He flashed his amulet. ‘What do you think of that? It was a present from Thor.’

  Louis threw back his head and gave out a loud belly laugh, holding his stomach. ‘Thor one of your friends? Now that is a good tale.’

  Shaun looked a little irate. ‘No, I’m serious, it was given to me by Thor but I will fill you in on all the details over a well-earned meal. It seems like I haven’t eaten for months.’ Louis nudged Ava and they both stifled their laughter before putting their arms around each other and heading for the cabin.

  Once they had eaten and Shaun had told them the full story of his journey and how the Gods had helped him, they packed their belongings and set off in the boat. They sat under the curved roof. Ava was so delighted just to be able to sit under the shade and look down on the harsh, parched terrain that had caused her so much distress on their journey over, with the rugged hills and suffocating, intense heat. They didn’t seem to be travelling at great speed, but they were soon passing over the border into the Death Canyon. Ava shuddered as she recalled their journey down this raging torrent of water hurtling between the towering, rugged sides of the Canyon. It looked even more dangerous from this aerial view. She sighed with relief as they flew over the cascading waterfall and beyond the mountain with its cathedral-style entrance, and they all joined in with a group hug. No words were spoken but each one knew they had succeeded: the worst of their journey was behind them.

  They approached the maze of rock walls and towers, floating down through the deep valley with its wooded cliff, coming to rest on the valley floor. Shaun stood up, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted out the Centaurs’ leader’s name: ‘Caroush! Caroush!’ and the sound was carried on the wind, reverberating through the valley. There was a short lull after the voice had faded away before the Centaurs appeared from the wooded cliffs and galloped over to the boat.

  Caroush shook his head. ‘If I hadn’t witnessed this I would never have believed it was possible. I won’t ask how you managed to succeed, but we are truly in awe of your achievement.’ Shaun smiled. ‘We never had any doubts… Well, if I’m honest, maybe just one or two.’ Ava looked at Louis. ‘Well, we had one or two dozen, but he always seems to come through in the end.’

  Shaun turned to Caroush. ‘I did have some help from the Gods, and they said that four of your troop must accompany us on our travels to protect the boat and make sure it is returned to the flaming valley once our battle is over.’

  Caroush turned to the other Centaurs. ‘I will come with you, but we need three volunteers.’ Without a moment’s hesitation they all raised their bows above their heads. ‘Very good. I will choose three of our archers and we will join you, can you give us some time as we need to prepare.’ ‘Yes, that will suit us. We need to visit the Dwarfs’ forge: some of them need to come with us,’ said Shaun.

  Caroush ushered his troop away. ‘Wait for us at the forge: we will meet you there. They turned and galloped back, disappearing into the woods, and Shaun set the boat on course for the Dwarfs’ forge.

  It was only a short journey and they landed as close to the entrance as possible. Louis climbed down and hurried over to the cave glanced back before disappearing inside, leaving Shaun and Ava to stay guard over the boat. And, as usual, Shaun took every opportunity to have a snack and he was soon sitting under the arched roof raking through his rucksack with Ava looking on, her face beaming with happiness. It was just heart-warming to see him alive and well after his ordeal: something over the past days she thought she might never see again.

  It was sometime later that Louis emerged followed by a stream of Dwarfs all carrying armfuls of weapons. ‘Look what we have been given: weapons, lots of lovely weapons to help with our battle!’ Louis shouted excitedly, raising one of the swords.

  Shaun smiled. ‘Very good. We can’t have too many, but King Dumall and Delross have been working on theirs for some time. I’m sure they will have more than enough.’

  ‘Ah,’ Louis replied, ‘but these are no ordinary weapons. Although they are not as magical as the legendary ones you have in the boat, these have been forged in the same manner their ancestors used and are so much stronger and lighter than the ones our dwarfs use. The Dark Wizard’s guards will wonder what hit them.’

  ‘In that case bring them on-board,’ Shaun said, rubbing his hands, his whole body tingling with excitement. Now they had the boat and all these weapons he felt things were starting to stack up in their favour. The Dwarfs continued to load up the seemingly endless stream of supplies, but finally as the last dwarf approached the boat, Draggar appeared with five heavily armed guards and they marched over and climbed on-board.

  ‘Louis told me the Gods insist we have to travel with you to help in your fight and we alone will be allowed to wield the legendary weapons. Well, we are the six: these are five of my strongest and most skilled warriors.’ He paused a moment. ‘And I am even better still,’ he said with a wry smile, and they all laughed out loud, sharing the joke. ‘But in all seriousness we are honoured to be chosen to fight alongside you and our distant relatives.’

  Shaun shook his head. ‘No, it is we who are
honoured by your cooperation. I’m sure the Great Wizard and of course King Dumall and Delross will be overjoyed at the prospect of fighting alongside you. Now we must wait for the Centaurs to join us before setting sail for the land of the Dragons: two of them will travel with us.’ They didn’t have to wait long before Caroush and his little troop emerged from the gloom galloping up the track. Once on-board, Shaun pointed ‘his ring’ and they took off, climbing steadily upward and heading for the border. And as they approached the mountainous wall that formed the impregnable fortress, a strange thing happened. All of a sudden Shaun lost control of the boat; under its own power it tilted back and began to climb vertically with all its passengers hanging onto the sides for dear life. They all gasped in awe as they flew through the thick haze into a beautiful, clear, bright blue sky, but to their dismay the wall continued upwards, disappearing into the distant heavens. Slowly the boat straightened out and hovered for several minutes with its passengers becoming more and more agitated. ‘What now?’ Louis said. ‘Can you use your hammer to burst through?’

  Shaun shook his head. ‘I don’t think the Gods would approve, but I have no control over the boat now. I can only think this is the Gods taking over, so we should just be patient.’ His eyes lit up. ‘Maybe we will have time for a little snack.’

  Ava sighed out loud, totally exasperated. ‘You’re the only person in this world or any world that would think of their stomachs at a time like this.’

  But before he could answer or open his rucksack there was a loud crunching sound and they all cheered out loud as a large opening appeared in the wall and the air was filled with the booming voice of Thor. ‘Well thought out, Shaun. You made the right decision: we will be with you at all times.’

  Shaun turned to Louis. ‘Now do you believe me? That was my new friend, Thor.’ He gave out a hearty chuckle. ‘But a true friend would have at least waited till I’d had my snack.’ Ava couldn’t help but laugh as Shaun pointed his ring and they sailed through the opening. Keeping above the swirling haze, Shaun steered them across the harsh, mountainous terrain and they were soon gliding over the clifftops and down between the rugged cliff walls to the deep valley floor below.