CHAPTER 13. THE CELLAR WITH THE IRON CAGE

Mor, Vuk, and Nuk walked along the fields, surprised by the potato bushes. Back home they stood a little above the knee, but here they turned out to be much lower, and their leaves, too, were noticeably smaller. The Bignoses saw no other vegetables in the fields. Nor did they forget what they had actually come here for. They listened in on the workers’ conversations, and in between, asked questions of their own. That was how they learned that the work had gotten harder, because many goblins were now learning to handle a sword instead of the land. So extra strength wouldn’t have gone amiss for the workers. But no matter how many times they raised their hands to the sky, calling on the Supreme Rider, no extra strength ever came to them.
Having learned nothing useful — or rather, quite the opposite, having become convinced that there was no Ant Power here at all — the Bignoses decided to head back to the house. There they wanted to calmly discuss what to do next.
“Have you noticed? There aren’t any vampire flies around here, and I haven’t seen any mosquitoes either.” At least, none of those bloodsuckers landed on me. And there’s just somehow not much wildlife around in general. There’s not a single caterpillar in the field, and back home we’ve got plenty of them. You could eat them every day. No, I don’t eat caterpillars every day. I’m just saying we have a lot of them. Plenty to choose from,” Vuk began.
“They already told you: bad soil. It doesn’t want to feed well whatever grows on it. That’s why they have less of everything than we do,” Nuk answered.
“Exactly. And I don’t understand why Warden Appo, instead of asking the land to become better, spends his strength on endless fights,” Vuk said indignantly, but quietly enough that no one around would hear him. Especially the armed goblins standing nearby.
“That is strange, actually. This morning on the square, that big fellow was fighting the goblins. He’s the one who trains them, after all. So why would the Warden himself take part in duels like that, too? Especially one as arrogant as Appo,” Mor said thoughtfully.
That’s exactly why he takes part — to demonstrate his superiority.” He’s probably an excellent warrior,” Nuk suggested.
The Bignoses were passing by the last field, near which several workers were resting. Mor decided to go up to them and ask about the Warden.
The goblins told him that their Warden was strict, and at times even harsh, but fair overall. Though for some reason, he was much more favorably disposed toward the warriors, who hadn’t existed in the goblinum before. And recently, everyone had also learned about his extraordinary strength. The Warden had sometimes held training duels before, too. But in yesterday’s battle everything had been for real, and he had overcome five of the best warriors at once, without much difficulty. The local goblins had never seen such strength before, and so had come to respect him even more.
From their somewhat frightened faces, Mor understood that fear had appeared alongside their respect. But right now that interested him least of all, because he had heard the main thing.
Having said goodbye to the workers, Mor set off toward the goblinum with a quick step. The brothers hurried after him.
“Did you hear all that?” he asked nervously.
“Yes,” Nuk answered for himself and his brother.
“So that’s where it showed itself. How didn’t I guess right away, when you told me about it this morning,” Mor almost cried out.
“What didn’t you guess? Or rather, what have you already guessed?” Vuk asked, not understanding.
“That yesterday, Warden Appo tried the Ant Power on himself. Or rather, it was his opponents who felt it — five warriors at once. That’s why they were praising him so much on the square today. No one had ever seen anything like it before. The thieves brought him the Ant Power only a few days ago. And he, of course, wouldn’t have given it to anyone until he’d made sure for himself how it worked.”
“Wow,” the brothers drawled at the same time.
“If Warden Appo drank the Ant Power and the first thing he did was pick a fight, does that mean he’s planning to keep going in the same spirit?” Nuk asked, resigned.
“Most likely, yes,” Mor answered.
“But maybe he needs it for defense against trolls, after all? Remember, Brakha said the warriors guard the borders?” Vuk still hadn’t lost hope of finding a more peaceful explanation.
“Maybe. But I don’t believe it. Let’s go back home now, and think about what to do next. We may have to flee from here as soon as tonight,” Mor said.
As they approached the house, the goblins saw a large goblin standing beside it.
What kind of uninvited guest is this? Mor thought anxiously.
“That’s the big fellow from the square. Lukdun, I think. I wonder why he’s hanging around here,” Vuk said, alarmed.
Meanwhile Lukdun spotted the Bignoses and, without moving from where he stood, began waiting patiently. When the goblins came closer, he asked where they had been, and then informed them that the Warden wanted to see them. To the question of why the Warden was calling for them, Lukdun gave no answer. He simply turned and walked off, paying no attention to their reaction.
The Bignoses had no choice. Not to come at the Warden’s request would have meant showing disrespect, and, more importantly, arousing suspicion. So they set off after him, hoping that Appo still didn’t know the true purpose of their visit. At any rate, nothing pointed to that.
They found the Warden in excellent spirits. He greeted them with a good-natured smile, and seemed genuinely glad of this new meeting.
“I hear you went out to the fields. Probably wanted to compare your potatoes with ours. There, of course, you’re ahead. I know your land is much better than ours. Otherwise it would be us holding the harvest festivals, not you,” he said cheerfully.
“Yes, we just came back from there. You’re right, our potatoes are a little better. But it’s all down to the land. That’s no fault of yours. After all, you can’t move our land here,” Mor answered good-naturedly.
“That’s true. Unless we come to you ourselves, and you come to us. We could switch places,” the Warden said, half in jest, half in earnest.
An awkward silence hung in the air after his words, but Appo quickly broke it.
“I want to ask you: since you took such an interest in our fields, does that mean you work the land yourselves back home, too?”
“Yes. We were entrusted with a whole potato field. A few days ago we were already gathering beetles off it. Now we’re responsible for it,” Vuk answered hastily, since he very much wanted to take part in the conversation.
“Ah, is that so. Then why did you abandon your field and set out on such a long journey? I’m afraid that by the time you get back, nothing will be left of the bushes but stalks. Why didn’t Warden Ogl send someone free of work? And more experienced goblins would have suited such a dangerous journey better, too. You’re still quite young, after all.”
The Warden went on smiling, moving his gaze from one Bignose to another.
Neither Mor, nor Nuk, nor Vuk least of all, knew what to answer. Appo’s questions had backed them into a corner. All three stayed silent, and Nuk and Vuk had already begun glancing anxiously at Mor.
“You’re staying so mysteriously silent. I’m starting to think you have some kind of secret. Is that exactly why your Warden chose you?” Warden Appo asked, quite seriously now, no longer smiling.
Nuk lowered his head, as though he’d suddenly taken an interest in his own feet, while Vuk turned to Mor. His bulging eyes literally shouted, “Well, come on! Say something, anything!”
And at that moment, Mor finally broke the silence:
“There’s no secret at all, of course. And as for our Warden, he never intended to send us in the first place. I volunteered myself. You see, I lost my parents as a child. They went into the forest, and no one ever saw them again. It was said that they might have been abducted by humans and made into their slaves. So, I thought that the Hermit goblinums must have more contact with the outside world. After all, they’re located almost at the edge of the forest. Maybe someone had heard something, or perhaps even knew something. That’s why I talked Warden Ogl into sending me, specifically. Besides, I often used to visit the Lore-master, and I know our forest fairly well. And Vuk and Nuk are old pals of mine. That’s why the three of us set out on this journey.”
Vuk’s eyes at once returned to normal, and Nuk lifted his head, instantly losing interest in his own feet.
“Your story has moved me. It’s very sad that you lost your parents at exactly the time you needed them most. And I’m very touched that all these years you never gave up hope of learning at least something about them,” the Warden said, in a broken voice.
It seemed to Mor that tears were about to well up in Appo’s eyes. But that didn’t happen.
After a moment of silence, the Warden went on: “You see how important it is to have warriors. You’ve surely noticed them in our goblinum. They’re the ones who protect us. A goblin working in the field has no time to keep watching in every direction. And in the forest, at just such a time, trolls or thieves might be lying in wait for the right moment to do their dark deeds.”
“So that’s who it could have been!” Vuk suddenly exclaimed, as though a great thought had just struck him.
“What do you mean?” the Warden asked.
Mor and Nuk didn’t understand what Vuk meant either, and they turned to him in surprise.
Seeing that he’d managed to interest everyone present, Vuk spoke with satisfaction. “Mor, remember? You thought you saw someone sitting in a tree. Now I’m sure it was the goblin-kidnappers. We shouldn’t have skipped checking it out back then.”
Vuk had no doubt that he was helping. But catching Mor’s displeased look, he realized he’d said too much.
“Those were birds, Warden. We saw them fly off the trees afterward. Vuk simply forgot,” Mor said quickly.
“Birds, then, birds. Still, better birds than uninvited guests, wouldn’t you agree?” the Warden said, turning to Mor.
And at that moment, not a trace of his good-natured smile remained. Appo’s face turned instantly to cold stone.
Without waiting for an answer, he calmly went on: “Especially if the uninvited guests came for the Ant Power.”
The Warden’s eyes bored into Mor’s, but the young goblin withstood that heavy gaze.
Then Appo looked at Nuk. Nuk did as he had before: he lowered his head and began studying his own feet with great attention. Lingering on him for only a moment, the Warden shifted his gaze to the third Bignose. Poor Vuk was already agitated enough over having let something slip. He blinked rapidly, unable to hold Appo’s stare and not knowing where to look. He badly wanted to look at Mor, but his head stayed treacherously fixed in place, as though it had rusted stuck.
Ram fat, I need ram fat, throbbed in the frightened goblin’s head.
Several agonizing moments passed, and Vuk finally blurted out: “I don’t know who came for our Ant Power! I only saw the ravaged anthills…”
“Idiot! Be quiet!” Nuk shouted in a burst of anger.
But it was already too late.
The Warden merely smirked and called out loudly for Lukdun. Lukdun, who had apparently been waiting outside the door, entered at once. Four more armed goblins came in with him.
“Vile Bignoses! You decided to sniff out who took the Ant Power. So that’s why you came here! You wanted to trick me and dreamed up those invitation letters for some long-forgotten holiday. But you underestimated me. And now you’ll be punished.”
He fell silent for a moment, then continued: “Right now I have other matters to attend to. So I’ll ask you about all the details later. And I don’t advise stubbornness. Otherwise your suffering will be long. For now, you’ll go to a very cozy place. We have an old, abandoned cellar. Food used to be kept there once; now worms, beetles, and a few others live there. It’s dark, cold, and damp. I hope you’ll like it. And so you won’t even think of escaping, a cage has been prepared for you. Lukdun, take our guests to their new home.”
“With pleasure,” Lukdun replied, and smiled for the first time in a long while.
Warden Appo hadn’t lied to the Bignoses. When the cellar door was opened before them, a smell of damp and mold wafted out from inside. Impenetrable darkness reigned within, and a strange rustling came from the depths. When Lukdun shoved the goblins inside and stepped in after them with a candle, it became clear who was making the sounds.
They were centipedes. Nasty white centipedes. So big that a single one would barely have fit on the palm of a grown goblin’s hand.
“Well, there you go. Their harvests are small, but every kind of crawling filth grows just fine,” Vuk said gloomily.
At the light of the candle, the centipedes scurried hastily into cracks in the walls. Beetles crawled slowly underfoot, as if to show this was their home and they had no intention of hiding. In the middle of the cellar there indeed stood an iron cage. Mor, Nuk, and Vuk were driven straight into it. Lukdun locked it, then left the cellar together with the guards. The door closed.
For the prisoners, the darkest night had begun, even though outside the sun was shining brightly.
In the pitch darkness, every sound seemed louder. The beetles moved faster, and the walls rustled ominously. It seemed to the goblins that all these crawling creatures were heading straight for them. Without exchanging a word, they began shifting from foot to foot and slapping at their whole bodies and legs. Even Vuk, who could usually swallow almost anything that moved, was afraid of the centipedes.
“Forgive me. It’s my fault we ended up here. Or rather, it’s not all of me that’s to blame, just my long, blabbing tongue. May it wither away,” Vuk said quietly.
“We agreed that Mor would be the one talking to the Warden. And we only speak when we’re asked something. Because of you, we’d already ended up in a dungeon full of crawling filth by the very next day. And we’ll hardly get out of here,” Nuk answered angrily.
“I didn’t want to say anything. But he looked at me like that. I swear, it felt like his eyes were about to eat mine if I stayed silent. Cold sweat even broke out on my forehead and ran into my eyes. And I couldn’t wipe it away — my hands wouldn’t obey me. I couldn’t move at all, really. As if the Warden had tied me up with invisible ropes and put a spell on me with his stare. So I couldn’t hold out. Or rather, my tongue couldn’t hold out,” Vuk said, sincerely justifying himself, and it was clear he was on the verge of tears.
“All right, calm down. I think the Warden already suspected something before this. That’s why he called us here — to catch us on something. Otherwise, why would he suddenly want to invite us to his house? Vuk just happened to help him along. Though I do wonder what he’d already found out before that,” Mor said, trying to calm both brothers.
“What difference does it make now? We’ll be sitting here for the rest of our lives either way. And that life might turn out to be very short,” Nuk said despairingly.
“Don’t give up before it’s time. Things can still change,” Mor said, reassuring him.
A plan had already begun to form in his head. But it was too early to speak of it, because Warden Appo himself was meant to play the main role in that plan. So Mor decided to wait for him to come first.
“That’s right, Nuk. Mor is sure to think of something. He’s smart, after all. Much smarter than me. So we’ll get out of here,” Vuk said, visibly cheered up.
“And just how are we going to do that? We’re sitting in a locked iron cage inside a cellar with stone walls. And there are plenty of crawling creatures all around. I get the feeling they wouldn’t mind having a taste of us. I haven’t noticed any other food for them in here,” Nuk went on grumbling.
“Come on, don’t panic. Let’s wait for Warden Appo, and we’ll see from there,” Mor said calmly.
After that, the goblins stood in silence, unable to see one another. Even Vuk’s fiery red head gave no sign of itself in the dark. They didn’t dare sit down, afraid something might live in the ground too and would be sure to crawl out. Beetles were already crawling over their feet as it was. Fortunately, they didn’t bite, which couldn’t be said of the centipedes. These lovers of darkness somehow managed, in some inexplicable way, to drop right onto heads and bite painfully before the goblins could shake them off.
Vuk grew so angry that he grabbed the next centipede that fell on his head and decided to eat it. He forced the writhing body into his mouth with difficulty, its dozens of legs clinging desperately to his lips, nose, and cheeks. The goblin was eager to vent his anger by turning the centipede into mush, as he had done more than once with caterpillars. But the sticky skin turned out to be so tough that he couldn’t bite through it. Instead, the centipede itself, wriggling nimbly, managed to bite his tongue and cheeks. When Vuk felt the vile thing trying to make its way into his throat, he quickly pulled it out of his mouth and hurled it into the darkness.
At that very moment Nuk cried out and declared, frightened, that the centipedes, it seemed, could fly.
“One just slammed into my back! And I can’t tell if it’s still on me or if it’s already fallen off.”
Vuk wisely said nothing. He decided it was better this way than if the crawling monster had reached his stomach and bitten everything inside.
This was the nightmare in which the goblins spent their captivity. Whether it was now evening, night, or the next day had already come, they didn’t know. Time dragged on agonizingly long. The prisoners were beginning to feel that everyone had already forgotten about them. Except for the inhabitants of the cellar, of course.
At last the door opened. The light that poured into the cellar reached the cage a little, and the goblins involuntarily shielded their eyes.
It must be the next day now, Mor thought.
Someone began climbing down into the cellar. Mor waited impatiently to see who would appear before them. He needed only one particular goblin, and he already knew what he would say to him. A moment later, the Bignoses saw Warden Appo. At the light of his candle, the centipedes again hurried to scatter into the cracks.
The Warden walked up to the cage. Along the way he crushed several dozen beetles, without paying the slightest attention to it.
“How did my uninvited guests sleep in their new place?” he asked with a snide smile.
The goblins said nothing.
“Did you enjoy the hospitality of the local crawling residents? I’ll admit, I hate these centipedes. Such vile creatures that I don’t even want to touch them. But you, well, you’ll have to. And not just touch them — you’ll have to eat them, because you won’t have any other food. Though goblins aren’t so squeamish, and can eat just about anything. Especially this fat redheaded fool right here,” the Warden said, pointing at Vuk.
“What do you want? Why are you keeping us here?” Mor asked.
“Good question. I don’t even know myself. Nor, for that matter, why I’m still keeping you among the living. Yesterday it seemed to me that my plans had been disrupted, and I wanted to find something out from you. But today I realized your answers won’t change anything. After all, your Warden suspects the Hermits of stealing the Ant Power. Otherwise you wouldn’t have come here. But it seems to me he won’t do anything until you return. And you won’t be expected home for a while yet — the road here isn’t short. Correct me if I’m wrong,” the Warden said, looking at Mor with interest.
“Everything you said is right,” he replied.
“You see. So I still have plenty of time to carry out my plan. And who knows, perhaps Warden Ogl will soon join you in here, if he refuses to submit. There’s room enough in this cage for everyone. If, of course, you’re still alive by then.”
A gloating smile appeared on the Warden’s face again.
“If you’ve learned about the Ant Power, then you must know about the war it led to as well. Why would you want to repeat it all again?” Mor asked.
“Note that it was you who started the war. You live on good lands, eat well, and sleep peacefully. You don’t know the stench of the swamps. But that turned out not to be enough for you. With the help of the Ant Power, you wanted to subdue the whole Goblin Forest, and you started with our clan. But your boundless greed clouded your already weak mind. Because of you, all of us nearly died. And I only want a better life for my long-suffering goblinum. Admit it, that’s far nobler than the thirst for glory of your worthless Wardens of old,” Appo answered angrily.
“There’s nothing good in doing evil to some for the sake of good to others.”
“That depends how you look at it. Now answer me one question, and then you can ask for something. Food, for instance. Tell me, how did you manage to figure out so quickly that someone had been near the anthills? I don’t imagine anyone’s interested in them these days, with crowds of Bignoses strolling past them every day.”
“Our neighbors noticed strangers near the fields and told us about it. Then, while we were working in the field, it seemed to me that someone had been climbing one of the trees. I grew curious. The next day I went there and found the ravaged anthills. After that I told the Warden everything. That’s all.”
“How simple,” the Warden said thoughtfully. “It seems you’re telling the truth. After all, yesterday you told me about the birds. All right, Mor. What do you want?”
Mor pretended to think it over, and finally answered, “Bring us our cloaks. It’s cold in here. And we could cover ourselves with them against the centipedes, too.”
“Strange. I was sure you’d ask for food or water. But it seems you’ve decided to make yourself at home here,” the Warden said, now genuinely surprised.
At that moment Lukdun came down into the cellar. “Someone’s approaching the goblinum from the south,” he reported.
Appo guessed at once that it was the Wardens of his clan arriving.
“We’ll soon have truly long-awaited guests,” he said, turning to Mor. “Everything is going exactly as it should. As for your request, I’ll grant it. I’ll give the order now, and your cloaks will be brought to you. You know, I hadn’t realized that dying warm is more pleasant than dying cold. Still, that’s your business. I have no more time. I may visit you again, but I promise nothing.”
The Warden left the cellar. The door closed, and darkness became mistress here once more.
“You shouldn’t have asked for cloaks. Fine, we’ll be a bit warmer, but then what? We have no food. I tried a centipede — you can’t bite through it. That leaves the beetles, but you won’t last long on those. You should have asked for food,” Vuk said, breaking the silence.
“Well, so we’d have eaten today and tomorrow. And then what? Ten days from now? Though I’m not even sure we’ll live that long. So it doesn’t matter anymore — cloaks, food, or anything else. We’re finished either way,” Nuk answered darkly.
“Let’s just wait for our cloaks,” Mor said calmly, though his heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to leap out of his chest.
The wait passed in silence. Centipedes still fell onto the goblins’ heads from time to time, and by now the goblins shook them off lazily. Everyone had calmed down a little. Vuk was even considering trying to eat another centipede. But this time he decided to crush it with his foot first, and only then try it with his teeth.
At last the door creaked again and opened. A goblin came into the cellar carrying the cloaks. Without a word, he threw them into the cage and left at once. Each prisoner managed to grab his cloak before the closing door plunged everything back into darkness.
“Hey, you can lie down on these cloaks. Maybe we can even get some sleep. No, that was actually a useful thing to ask for,” Vuk remarked cheerfully.
Mor said nothing in reply. Right now, only one thing concerned him — whether anyone had gone through the pocket of his cloak. The small pocket was almost unnoticeable. But the Warden could well have ordered the cloaks searched thoroughly before returning them. And then there would be no hope of escape left at all.
Mor carefully felt for the right spot. In the dark it wasn’t easy. Eventually he reached the little pocket and slipped a finger inside. The pouch was still there. He nearly cried out with relief. So there was still a chance of escape.
Mor gripped the pouch tightly in his palm and pressed his hand to his chest, afraid of accidentally dropping it. In total darkness, finding something so small would have been impossible.
“Listen,” he said quietly. “I have Ant Power. And tonight we’ll try to get out of here.”
“But how did you get it? And where have you been hiding it this whole time?” Nuk asked, bewildered.
“I happened to find a pouch near the ravaged anthills. Then I hid it in the little pocket of my cloak. That’s why I asked for them to be brought back, specifically. I was hoping no one would find it.”
“So the Ant Power was with you this whole time, and you didn’t say anything to us?” Vuk said with a slight reproach.
“And I did right not to. Especially not to you, Vuk. Because your tongue is too big to sit quietly behind your teeth,” Nuk shot back at once.
“I won’t argue about the tongue. But a bear could have killed you, too, if not for your ram.”
“As you can see, it didn’t. I do feel sorry for the ram, of course. But right now he couldn’t help us at all. The Ant Power, though, might save us. What do we do next, Mor?”
“We need to wait for night. Real night — outside. I’ll drink the Ant Power, bend the bars of the cage apart, then take out a few of the top stones from the wall and dig a way out,” Mor said, sharing his plan.
“See, I always knew you were the smartest goblin in our goblinum. Maybe in the whole clan, even,” Vuk declared happily.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “Wait. How will we know it’s already dark outside?”
“Wait a little, and I’ll tell you what needs to be done. I think you’re the one best suited for this, out of all of us.”