“I can’t even see past the end of my nose. Time to get off this miserable island. Shine that flame over here,” Squiddly moaned from the bottom of a large, freshly made hole in the ground.
“Enough. The sooner you finish digging this damn hole, the sooner we can catch what we came for and be on our way.” Jip was determined not to give up. It was, of course, his plan to create a trap, and it was going reasonably well, particularly given the fact they were working under the dark veil of night, with only a flaming stick for a torch.
Squiddly replied, “I can’t even lift this shovel anymore. Why am I the one who always gets lumped with the legwork? I haven’t seen sunlight in days!”
“Bahhh!” yelled Koogy.
“I agree with Koogy”, Jip interjected. “Squids I’d tell you to shove it where the sun don’t shine, but we’re already there. Keep going, it’s nearly deep enough. Think of what we’ll catch, and the prize.”
“And what if no mystical creatures walk over this trap, ey? Then what will we do? We saw that carcass down by the shore… What if there are other hunters here?”
“Bam bam nam!” yelled Koogy.
“Koogy’s right. Fighting isn’t helping anyone.” said Jip. “This is not a catastrophe yet, so let’s not turn it into one.”
***
The Searchers crept across the Island of Perpetual Darkness, and through the never-ending night. The final part of their quest to capture more souls was causing some disagreement, as the group made their way up and down over the island’s many shadowy dips and rises. As they went up one particularly steep hill, three of the Searchers were carrying Tim above their heads, still in his net. Another five were carrying the Great Stag, bound up in his chains. The two at the front were bickering over who would present their catches to the Dark Giant.
“Is your head stuck so far up your own backside that you can’t see how unreasonable you are being? I masterminded this operation, thank you very much, so I’ll be the one who presents him to our gracious leader,” one was adamant.
“My dear co-mate, my head is stuck firmly upon my neck, which is more than I’ll be able to say for you if you don’t do as I say,” the other replied.
They did not have a moment to reach a conclusion, for in the flash of a second, these two at the front slipped and fell into the ground. The trees jumped upside down in the darkness as their faces hit the black in a flabbergasting thwack.
From behind a cunning tree nearby, the villagers leapt up, hollering like hooligans. The pack of Searchers carrying Tim and the Great Stag dropped both of them and fled into the blackness. Those two that had fallen into the trap were in a state of shock, and could only make strange noises.
“AHHH!” Koogy roared at them. He had the weapons of surprise and fear.
Squiddly stared down into the pit and saw an unwelcome sight. “Humans! We’ve caught humans…”
“What do you want!?” the heap of Searchers managed to squeak out, mortified.
Jip had been silent for a moment, shocked that another one of his plan’s was not going to plan. But he snapped himself into the moment – he was not about to lose face, and took control of the situation:
“Well you seem to have got yourself in an almighty mess down there.” But before Jip could negotiate with their unwanted captives, Koogy’s torch lit up a stag on the ground, tied up in a net. Then another stag, taller and broader, locked in chains.
“They’re ours!” cried the Searchers.
“Don’t move an inch,” Jip told them, “or you’ll feel the sharp point of my sword.” He did not tell them that he did not, in fact, have a sword on his person at that time, nor did he own a sword of any kind.
As he took in the situation, the sun came out in Jip’s mind, and he continued, “In exchange for your freedom, strange men in the hole, we will be taking these fine beasts with us, no questions asked. Boys, take that one on your shoulders down to the boat, then Koogy you come back and we’ll manoeuvre the other one down to the shore.”
They did so, and before the Searchers knew what had happened to them, stuck in a hole where the ground used to be, the villagers were pushing their boat out to sea. They had two rather confused and frightened stags on board.
The Legend of the Giant and the Stag 