Introduction

Journeying into the Cave, Jacob learns of a dangerous threat before facing his own challenge.

Adrift in Amnesia, Chapter 7: Mysterious Figures up Ahead (excerpt)

Jacob had thoroughly enjoyed the charismatic manner in which his guide recounted the extraordinary story of the magical world. He was itching to learn more about Cabras and its dragons; especially the Firekyma – a beast mighty enough to destroy entire armies was one greater than anything he had read about back home. More than anything, he hoped to see it, while also pondering about this curious ‘Professor’ character. 

The wizard, still feeling a little anxious at the subtle noises around the Cave, impressed the need to continue. Jacob was reasonably satisfied by the promise of hearing more about its history later. They made their way past the large columns, following the path to a tunnel vanishing into veiled anonymity. The glow of amethyst gradually dwindled behind them, as they set foot into its slender walls. ‘Here … you go in front … and stay close,’ whispered his guide, who reasoned that he could best protect Jacob if he could see him.

Jacob took the ball of light out of his pocket to help see the way ahead. The damp of flowstone could once more be felt close by and he was relieved to have had the presence of mind to bring a jacket. Subtle splish sounds emanated across the ground, as they trod in tiny puddles formed by millions of droplets falling elusively overhead. The tunnel went on for a couple of hundred metres. Together, they walked mostly in silence, having to pay attention to where they were setting foot in such a confined space. The wizard continued to maintain a sense of vigilance, which had abated only slightly, since he had not heard any more suspicious noises upon entering the passageway.

The narrow shaft reached a corner that was difficult to negotiate. A small stream was running down the wall, making it particularly tricky to move along without getting wet and fatally slipping into a large crevasse to the right. Here, the wizard went first to check the way was clear then, tapping his staff to reveal an umbrella, he prompted Jacob to follow. Not far after the corner, a light appeared in the distance and the cavern eventually reached a path overlooking a vast opening, possessing high ceilings disappearing through shadows above. 

They stopped and gazed into an expanse much greater than any of the other parts of the Cave, held up by majestic columns surrounded by thousands of stalactites and stalagmites of varying size although, unlike previously, the light in this space was different. Quite dissimilar to the pleasant radiance of purple and blue, under which Jacob had listened so keenly to the story of Cabras, this part of the journey was dimly lit by a strangely coloured glimmer and its source was not immediately recognisable.

A faint, dandelion colour eerily glowed from behind one of the large pillars, which illuminated the underpass just about adequately enough to see the way ahead. They began following a path coiling its way along a platform above this rather gloomy region. Jacob wondered if the yellow light was what they might be heading towards, but before he could ask, ‘get down!’ Urged the wizard, further telling him to, ‘keep that crystal in your pocket … we don’t want to draw any attention,’ a considerable look of seriousness on his face. Jacob went to speak, but his guide made a gesture not to say anything. Once again, upon entering the magical land, he felt a sensation of foreboding, though did as the wizard asked, not saying a word.

Head covered beneath his hood with staff in hand, the wizard cautiously knelt upwards, crouching behind the trail’s low wall to survey the main area. Jacob’s curiosity got the better of him and he too peered over the partition to see what had captured such worrisome attention. He froze in terror at what lay before them. Upon entering this part of the Cave, their initial view of the light was partially blocked by a huge column. Having walked along the path, they were now able to see right through the hollow’s vast tunnel, with pillars on either side bathed under its yellowish tinge, the source of which remained imperceptible. Jacob’s gaze instantly precipitated a tremendous sense of fright, while observing a strange looking creature stood motionless in the distance, ‘is that … is that a …?’ He asked, eyes widening at the sight of its huge, brown-black and bulbous, scaly body surrounded by sharp legs complete with stingers and pincers, ‘yes … Jacob,’ responded his guide, ‘I’m afraid it is.’

The wizard sat down again to think for a minute. Perhaps the Aranta would not see them and they could turn back safely. Or maybe he should wait, keep an eye on its movements and hit it with a starlight spell at an opportune moment – but then, which way to run afterwards? Were there more in the vicinity? As he was mulling this over in his mind, a decision made all the more complicated, for he had Jacob to consider, the young adventurer suddenly spoke and the wizard would find himself faced with something altogether more disturbing. ‘Who’s that?’ Whispered Jacob and his guide quickly moved towards the direction of the objects in question. ‘It looks like people … I mean, Cabrans,’ as the wizard nervously looked on.

In the distance could clearly be seen two figures cloaked in black. They were surely Cabrans, although whether witch or wizard was not clear – their hoods were up and one of them, the shorter of the two, appeared to be communicating with the beast. What they were witnessing was a dark magic of the most deadly kind, not seen since the days of Cabras’s last dictator. However, this was certainly not Falgore – no creature survives the infernal demise of the Firekyma. No, these were Cabrans of the present day and would surely have to be that of a most cunning order, especially the one communicating, but who? The wizard focused his eyes intensely to try and make out whom these curious figures were, a sense of unease growing in his Heart. The Professor and the Oracle had been right all along and Cabras was now in terrible danger.

Jacob’s decision to follow the light of azure had since thrown up an unexpected complication. The wizard recalled the Professor’s words, ‘no matter what, his journey is your priority … do not lose concentration on being his guide.’ He continued observing the figures ahead, musing on his master’s urgency, ‘but surely Cabras must be warned?’ He thought to himself, feeling deeply torn as to what course of action to pursue. At first, it seemed like he might just have to brave using a starlight spell against an Aranta so the two of them could escape and he could report that one of the beasts had managed to evade the guard around Cabras-Nord. This alone would have been scandalous enough, not least because it directly endangered the life of a guest. However, things had since taken a darker, more sinister turn and he knew it would be unwise to challenge all three ahead of him. For now, paying heed to the Professor’s words seemed like the wisest choice.

‘What should we do?’ Asked Jacob. 

‘We stick to the plan and follow your path. Once your task is completed … I’ll get you safely home and then warn the others.’ 

They waited for a while, continuing to examine the figures ahead and the Aranta. The mysterious silhouettes then disappeared into a tunnel located on the right side of the column, as the Aranta backed slowly into the shadow behind the light, fading menacingly into the murkiness of the Cave. The wizard watched the body language of the two figures with keen interest, noting how one of them – the taller of the two – had seemed rather apprehensive, ever mindful to keep his or her distance from the creature. The other, however, appeared noticeably confident and comfortable with their situation, conversing with one of Cabras’s most deadly and horrible beasts. The shorter individual was clearly the leader and the one who had evidently mastered a long forgotten and truly fiendish magic. Only one with the cruellest of intentions would seek such knowledge, hence the wizard’s disquiet towards whom this particular Cabran might be.

Steeped in nothing but a mist of yellow, surrounded by darkness, the Cave once more appeared to be the sole province of Jacob and the wizard. They cautiously rose to their feet and discreetly crept along the platform that was navigating their direction away from the Aranta, which had them both feeling rather relieved. Even so, the wizard remained conscious that they might be heading directly into the path of the two mysterious figures. In many ways, this was the more perilous direction, but it was the route they had to follow nonetheless. 

They continued walking along the rocky terrace, Jacob keeping a sharp eye on the surrounding space as much as the wizard. He felt anxious, but had also come to hold a profound sense of trust in his guide. Somehow, he knew he would protect him and in this he would increasingly find himself drawn to realising his own courage. As the path veered further to the right of the column, they reached some steps going downwards. At the bottom could be seen a faint glow of white light. ‘Not far now,’ said the wizard. Jacob had not really given much thought to the destination of his journey – too transfixed by the sight of magic, the story of Falgore and the Arantas, not to mention the prospect of meeting the dragons. Now, he found himself privy to knowledge of what looked for certain to be a conspiracy – it was all getting rather exciting!

They carefully descended the steps, the wizard clutching his staff vigilantly – ready to cast a starlight spell; or worse, to go to battle against two evil Cabrans, all while having to consider the welfare of a young boy. They reached the bottom of the ancient, rocky stairwell opening into an area surrounded by smooth, damp walls. In the middle stood a single pillar bathed in a gently glittering, white mist. In the centre of the column was a door. ‘This is it,’ as he invited the young adventurer to go forth and enter. 

Jacob was hesitant, now suddenly feeling a little unsettled at what may lie beyond the entrance. ‘What’s wrong?’Asked the wizard. ‘I’m scared,’ he replied and his guide knelt down to face him, placing his hand gently on his shoulder. ‘You have so far travelled many light years across the universe and, then … of all the stages you could have chosen, you picked the hardest of all … the Cave. Once inside … you chose to go the more difficult path away from the golden light. Let me ask you … why did you really choose to come this way? The other direction seemed so much more pleasant.’ 

Though he said he was intrigued by the azure, what Jacob neglected to mention at the time was that it had also made him think of a story Molly once told him about his father. It was a story he had been told the previous year, after they stayed with Percy and his mother had put flowers on James’ grave.

‘Well … it made me think of my mum and dad.’ 

‘Oh,’ replied the wizard, with an introspective look on his face, ‘how so?’ 

‘My dad was killed before I was born and my mum always liked to put flowers on his grave. She told me his favourite colour was blue and she had bought some blue coloured flowers called “forget-me-nots!”’ He chuckled at these oddly named plants; ‘she told me there is a type of music called the Blues that my dad always listened to. She told me the names of some songs … but I can’t remember,’ He paused, then suddenly recalled, ‘except one!’ He beamed, ‘it’s … it’s something like, “we have a good time in the world”…’ 

‘Do you mean, “We have all the time in the world?”’ Enquired the wizard, smiling. 

‘Yeah, that’s it! My mum would play it sometimes. Sometimes, I would see her crying … and she would say that not all tears are sad … but … but wait, how do you know this song?’ 

‘Ah, well … remember … we, we Cabrans have been visiting Earth for centuries and observing your many trends and customs too, you know. We are passionate about music as well, as you yourself witnessed in our theatre … and I happen to also like that very song!’ 

The wizard tapped his staff on the ground and, gently through unending flowstone, came a familiar sound …

‘We have all, the time in the world
Time enough for life
To unfold
All the precious things
Love has in store …’

‘Yeah, that’s it!’ Exclaimed Jacob, as white dust began slowly dancing above and the two of them listened to the soulful voice of Louis Armstrong, leading into the verse before that famous solo …

‘We have all, the time in the world
Just for love
Nothing more
Nothing less
Only love …’

The distinct sound of a Blues’ trumpet reverberated softly among the walls of the Cave and Jacob found himself experiencing a tremendous sense of happiness among endless, miniature stars. He could not explain why, but he always loved hearing this particular song. As Louis Armstrong’s anthem faded back into the darkness of the rocks surrounding, Jacob, still smiling, turned again to face the doorway in front of them. No longer feeling doubtful towards whatever challenge lay before him, he headed straight for the entrance. He did not notice a tear form in the wizard’s eye who, looking slightly upwards, subtly mused to himself, ‘thanks, Louis.’

Jacob stood before the opening directly leading to the main part of his quest. The wizard remained close behind and together they disappeared into the light in front of them. The entrance faded into cave stone, as they proceeded through the white aura to find themselves in a tunnel that split into dual circular shapes, peppered throughout by columns, stalactites and stalagmites and a return of the azure haze, which had initially drawn Jacob to follow this direction. Once more, he had only his Heart to look to, for the passageways appeared identical.

Jacob peered deep into each corridor in the hope either one might reveal some kind of clue or sign, as to which would be the best route to take. At the very moment he would begin to feel some frustration welling within, there suddenly emerged an out of place shadow through the left-hand tunnel that seemed to abruptly vanish. He stared inquisitively into the space to see if it would return. He looked again through the one next to it and saw no sign of a similar kind. Curious at the nature of this spectre, Jacob opted to go left and the wizard followed the young adventurer. 

This part of the Cave possessed a cool, distinctly spooky air about it, not least in that the underpass felt like walking into a giant mouth with menacingly sharp, gaping jaws. The ground itself was unevenly weather-worn into ripples, a bit like hardened sand dunes that ran around its circumference, disappearing through the azure mists, while ever-present through the persistent drip-drip sounds above. They had to be mindful of very slippery puddles forming between the ripples of rock beneath, which themselves had become rather slick from the constant damp.

It took a bit of time to steer their way along this area of the passageway, until they eventually reached a door at the end. This entrance was strangely familiar, although Jacob could not have recognised that it was the door to his mother’s room in Bradford hospital. He reached for the handle, the door making no sound at all as it opened and the two of them walked through. They found themselves in a very large space covered by smooth cave rock. The door dissipated into the walls behind them and, for a moment, it appeared that both were trapped inside this place. Jacob was scared and even the wizard, ever mindful of all they had just seen, held his staff guardedly with feelings of apprehension.

Together, they cautiously walked around the enclosure, inspecting the walls to see if there was another door or tunnel. Jacob took out his blue ball of light and the wizard had illuminated the crystal of his staff, but neither was able to find any way out of this place. They looked up and could see nothing but a ceiling of dense rock and noticed this particular area was curiously drier than the rest of the Cave – no moisture on the walls, no drips descending from above and no light, save that which they held in their hands. Both Jacob and the wizard were surveying the right-hand side of this space, when a glimmer unexpectedly appeared behind them and the young adventurer suddenly became emotional, running to the wall – ‘Mum! Mum!’

The cave rock had turned into a large window that looked into Molly’s hospital bedroom. She was currently sat on the floor in the corner, hands around her legs and head resting in-between her knees. ‘Mum! Mum!’ He shouted many times, but she could not hear him. The wizard, unsure what to do and seeing the young boy upset, moved closer and gently put his hand on his shoulder. Jacob cried into his gown, looking up at him, ‘why can’t she hear me?’ His guide peered down into eyes of anguish, while trying to think of something reassuring to say. He was about to speak, when the room suddenly became cold with malice and a sinister voice revealed itself, ‘because she is under my spell.’ Both Jacob and the wizard abruptly turned around to find themselves faced with the demon.

2025 © Percival Alexander

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