Exercise Your Imagination! Do you like stories with mystery and suspense? Well, if you do, keep reading and enjoy Eggcentricsagas. If you are just joining Eggcentricsagas, start from the beginning: A La Mano: Part 1-The Treasure
“Falling, falling, falling… Down through the twisted roots, the prince fell. As the tunnel leveled off, Thaddeus hit the sides and rolled. Around and around in the tunnel, like water gathering around a drain. Eventually, he stopped turning and slid on his rump through it. The prince exited into a dark area with a rock-hewn floor. Dizzy from his descent, Thaddeus laid there for a moment in the cold shadows, trying to get his bearings. Luckily, he had held fast to his knife and backpack. Setting the weapon down, the teenager sat up. Then, standing, not wanting to lose them again, he replaced his packsack and blade in its sheath.
Up above, Noscere had doubled over with laughter after seeing the shocked look on the Moon Prince’s face when the ground had opened beneath him. While Noscere enjoyed her nasty trick on Thaddeus, Tarragon flew into the opening unnoticed by her. However, when Hummingbird tried to follow, Noscere closed the hole.
‘No help from you!’ Noscere told Hummingbird, and then, in a poof, the fairy disappeared with only sparkles remained.
Not knowing what to do and nervous for the prince, Hummingbird hummed and fretted.”
“Noscere’s mean!” Zerlinda stated emphatically. “I don’t like her.”
Mason looked askance at her before addressing Ravenna, “So, what happened next?”
“With only a single torch set high in the wall that shed flickering light to illuminate his way down the darkened tunnel, Thaddeus started walking. Quickly, the teenager came to a divide in the tunnel. The passageway split into three holes. Unsure of where he was going, the prince chose the left portal, believing there was light beyond. What he had seen was Tarragon zip by, leaving a trail of glowing teal fairy dust. She was leading him.
You see, Fairy Lair encompassed the entire area under Grey Woods. It was full of labyrinthine passages and underground tubes, all intertwined. Tarragon knew that the prince had the possibility of getting lost and wandering forever in that tangle of corridors. Not only that, there were Fairy Land dwellers, creatures even less friendly than Noscere that could do the prince harm. Unbeknownst to him, Tarragon was taking Thaddeus to someone who might help him.
Thaddeus continued to follow the dim, teal light through the twisting and turning hallways. Finally, up ahead, Thaddeus could see the entryway to an enormous cavern. A sea of light spilled from the opening. Carefully approaching the entrance, he looked inside. The prince was amazed at what he saw when his eyes adjusted to the dazzling radiance. Gold everywhere! Piles of it and every type. Gold spun cloth, gold coins, gold jewelry, gold trinkets, gold dust, gold nuggets, even gold dentures. There were also jewels. Diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and opals. But mostly gold. In the middle of it all, in a clearing, sat a small man hunched over a worn bench, working on a shoe. Its completed mate sat on a table nearby.
Thaddeus entered the cave and approached the man. He could see that the shoes appeared to be satin slippers of some sort. Dressed smartly, the little man was in a nicely pressed suit, all green, and a pork-pie hat.
The cobbler was talking to himself, as he thought no one else was there. ‘Not enough grains. Not enough. She’ll be so angry. You know it, Sir. Remember? She tried to bite you the last time… Acting like a common goose, she was…’ Trembling, the little man with the short, scruffy, red beard and bushy eyebrows looked towards the table with the shoe. He squinted at the column of sand falling into the lower bulb of the hourglass there before resuming his work.
Thaddeus observed the teal light he had been following now take shape. The pretty fairy with the fair hair that had rescued him before now flitted around the leprechaun’s head. Alerted to her presence, the leprechaun glanced up from his cobbling. Clenching the shoe, he asked, ‘What do you want, wee lass? Can’t you see I’m busy here?’
Thaddeus heard her reply but didn’t understand. Her sounds were a cross between music and language. As if she was speaking notes of the scale. The prince guessed it must be Fairy Talk. The leprechaun continued to tap the leather sole as he listened to her tale. ‘Noscere! A naughty one, that lass!’ He glanced at Tarragon and then noticed Thaddeus. Surveying him up and down, the red-haired man turned back to Tarragon. ‘Ya know that I’d help the lad but this,’ he said before indicating the shoes, ‘this must be done now! The Swan Queen is to perform lakeside tonight! Her attendants will be here soon to pick up her magic pointe shoes. I’ll not abide her fury if my task’s not done.’ He glanced at the hourglass again before picking up some needle and thread.
Thaddeus assumed that this angered Tarragon as she made more noises akin to coins jangling in a purse mixed with a bow being drawn sharply across violin strings. As she spat her words out, little bursts of glittery, teal, fairy dust spurt over the leprechaun’s face. ‘Och! Fur goodness’ sake lass! Look at the state o’you! You’re right! Bad manners, I have!’ The man put down his tools, turned to Thaddeus, and motioned him over.
‘‘C’mere lad! Lawrence Lochlann, glad to meet ya!’ Vigorously shaking hands with the prince, he added, ‘Friends call me Larry.’ The leprechaun winked at him. ‘Miss Tarry, here, says that ya need some help, but I’m afraid I’ve too much to do. But I know just the man that can take care of ya. He’s me distant cousin on me mother’s side… Cocking his head to one side, Larry paused as he remembered his mother. ‘Dear ol’ Ma… A fine one, they say, in her day. Not much of a beard, though.’ He chuckled and stroked his chin as he reminisced. Glancing down at the unfinished slipper brought him around to the present. ‘No time for that,’ he chided himself before addressing Tarragon. ‘Fetch me cousin, Goban O’Grady.’
Tarragon responded in Fairy Talk.
Larry nodded in response. ‘Yes, that’s where.’
More jingle issued from the girl.
‘He is.’
And with that, Tarragon disappeared in a mini-explosion of sparkles.
Lawrence addressed Thaddeus. ‘Make yerself at home, lad. I must finish me cobblin.’ Then he resumed his business of shoemaking and ignored the teenager.
As there was nowhere to sit, Thaddeus filled the time wandering, looking at all the wondrous treasures stored in the leprechaun’s cave. In a rather dim corner, comparatively to the rest of the brilliance, sat an enormous cauldron filled with golden coins. The prince drew near it. Later, when recounting his tales to his grandchildren, Thaddeus would recall that the pot seemed to beckon him. Emitting bluish-light, an eerie cast, the coins inside seemed to vibrate. ‘Draw nigh and look upon us,’ they whispered to him. Stepping closer, he could see strange markings on the coins. Magical symbols. So enchanting, so beautiful, so delightful… Gazing down at them, the prince reached for one to pick it up.
In a puff of teal smoke, Tarragon returned. Along with her was a spritely gnome with a large red cap perched on his head.
The gnome, seeing what Thaddeus was doing, called out immediately, ‘Stop, boy! Don’t touch that evil goblin lucre! It will bewitch and beguile you!’
Zerlinda interrupted. “Baba! What does lucre and beguile mean?”
“Stop interrupting! Geez! We want to hear the story!” Mason told her forcibly.
Snappish, Zerlinda screeched back, “You shut up! You’re not even supposed to be here! This is story time for me and Myrtle!”
“Children! Children!” Ravenna commanded. “No one will hear story time if we all can’t get along.”
“But Baba…”
“Shhh!” Ravenna shushed her and then turned to Mason. “It’s good when the girls ask about the words. That is how you learn them. If you want to take part, you must be patient.” Her grandmother spoke to Zerlinda. “Lucre means dirty money. Beguile means to enchant in a sneaky way. You see, the money was a trap.”
Ravenna’s daughter appeared at the back door. “Hey guys, your grandpa is here! Time to go!”
“Aw, phooey!” Mason frowned as he got up.
Magic, who had finally crept out from the bushes and was cautiously watching, heard Mason’s exclamation and quickly scampered back underneath them.
Next: The Myth of Madame Mariposa No. 2: Part 1- The Gift of the Mermaid
