Exmoor Stories 09: Into the Storm

Across the benighted hills of Exmoor a storm was raging. Buildings lost their roofs, trees tumbled like matches and out on the barren tops of the high moor, the rain and wind ripped across the landscape like an express train. Lightning cut the darkness constantly and every living thing had taken cover from it's might. The standing stone that had recently been excavated by the moorland mapping team was buffeted and lashed until a random blast of lightning skidded across the stone, causing sparks to fly around it. For a second, it rang like a bell. If it had been possible, any observer of this scene would swear that they heard laughter. Not happy laughter either. It was the sort that mocks and derides and tears at the heart. In an instant, it was lost in the wind and the storm raged on, uncaring.

Kate and Sam sat in their warm sitting room listening to the wind howl around their chimney.

"I wouldn't like to be out in this one!" said Sam.

Kate looked up from her book. "Me neither! I hope our friends are all as snug as we are."

A mile across the fields, Laura and Mark, along with their new baby boy were also sitting around their own fire. They had called their son after Mark's father and their friend across the moor, so he was now officially Theodore Samuel Hannaford. After just a few months, he was already known to all as 'Young Theo' and he was the apple of his parent's eyes.

Meanwhile, the hotel on the edge of the moor was taking a battering and Mike and Saira Ellis had their work cut out to make sure that their home and business was holding together. Saira was inspecting the windows in the bedrooms and locking down anything that was even remotely loose, while Mike had rashly gone outside to take a look at the out buildings and now that he was sure that all was well, he sat in what he jokingly called The Control Room, scanning the security cameras that covered the hotel grounds. Ever since their encounter with the big cat out on the moor and especially since Amyus Conybeare's strange warning, Mike had kept everything in top shape and had increased the number of cameras and motion sensors facing the western edge of their property on Amyus' advice. Saira came in and put her arms loosely around his neck from behind.

"How is it all looking?" She asked. "Is the storm damaging anything crucial?"

"Not so far," Mike replied, "and I've checked the weather forecast for the rest of today. They say that this will blow itself out by first light."

"Then I'm going to bed," Saira stretched herself. "The children are already in our bed," She said, "It's the first big storm they've experienced out here and they are both a bit freaked out by it!"

"I'll come up later, love," Mike told her, "I just want to keep tabs on things here for a while. Sweet Dreams!"

"OK, Good Night, Don't stay up all night!" Saira kissed his head, stood up and went to their bedroom smiling. 'I'll bet he will still be sitting there in the morning!' she thought.

As daylight broke the weather forecast proved itself to be right. The storm was starting to blow itself out and Mike could see more detail from the cameras. He was surprised to see Amyus Conybeare hurrying up the drive through the rain and made his way downstairs to let him in.

"Good Morning Amyus", Mike smiled at the little man.

"Good Morning, good morning!" Amyus responded, "What a blow we are having!"

"Is your house all safe and sound?" Mike enquired.

"It would take more than a storm to collapse my old place," Amyus said, "But I thought I'd come over to see if anything had happened here in the night."

"What sort of thing?" Asked Mike, "I was watching the security cameras most of the night and everything looks fine to me."

"Good! That's very good!" Amyus smiled for the first time. "I was worried that your magnificent building would have suffered in the wind, d'y'see?"

By now, Mike was getting used to Amyus' odd ways and knew that he must really have been worried about something to come over here through the tail end of a gale!

After a short chat, Mike put together a breakfast for them both and soon Saira joined them, greeting Amyus and helping herself to some food. Amyus was a famous eater, so Mike had rustled up far more than the basics, which Saira now took full advantage of.

"The children are still asleep." She told them, "They hardly slept a wink until the wind dropped."

"Everything looks fine on the cameras" Said Mike, "And Amyus has come over to check that we haven't been blown away by the storm!"

"I just wanted to make sure that nothing major had happened," Amyus smiled, "It was a terrible night, right enough!"

The conversation wandered through several subjects as was usual, until Amyus took his leave and said that he wanted to look at the hotel boundary with the moor for himself. Mike and Saira had gone to the Control Room with coffee, so that Mike could show her how their estate was looking and as they checked various cameras, they saw him as he went off across the grounds to the western edge of the lawns. Then the monitor flickered a little and Amyus had disappeared. Mike tried all of the nearby cameras, but Amyus was nowhere to be seen!

"I keep saying it," said Mike, "But there's something damned funny about that man!"

"I'd believe that after the big cat incident on the moor, " Saira commented, "But he has shown himself to be a good man in the face of the unexpected, so I think we're lucky to have him as a friend!"

---~~---

Laura and Mark were checking their flock and drove over to the fields they rented from Sam and Kate. They had Young Theo in a basket, strapped into the back seat of the pickup and decided to call in on their friends for a coffee.

Sam had been out taking a look at the state of play around their farm complex and was pleased to find that nothing major was damaged or just gone completely. It was Kate's turn to prepare breakfast and she was just getting busy when the Hannafords arrived. Kate stopped what she was doing to get a morning cuddle with Theo and the two men took over and finished off cooking a good breakfast for all. At least the worst of this storm had passed, although the weather forecast wasn't particularly good for some time in the future.

Christmas would soon be upon them and this year it would be celebrated at Mark and Laura's farm. They were planning to make Theo's first Christmas a party to remember. As well as Sam and Kate, several family members were due to come and stay. A new generation had begun and this was something to celebrate in style! They were all hoping that Mike and Saira and their children could make it too, once the hotel guests were breakfasted and the day staff arrived. Chat shifted from the storm to Christmas to Young Theo and beyond, until Mark said that they really ought to get back to checking the sheep. Thanks and farewells were exchanged and Theo was strapped securely into the pickup again. Sam and Kate stood in the porch and watched them drive off.

The day grew brighter and the wind slackened off again, into sudden unpredictable gusts. The rain had stopped by mid morning and Mike took himself off to check the grounds again. They had lost a couple of big trees, which would at least help fill the log store, but otherwise all was secure. The western wall seemed to have taken a bit of a battering though, as several parts of it were tumbled into the rough grass and in some places the ground itself had slipped out into the adjacent moorland. Still, nothing that couldn't be put right without involving insurance companies and the like. He returned to his Control Room. It was time to find a better name for it really, but it was Saira's little joke and had stuck. Sitting in his swivel chair, Mike checked around the cameras. The weather had certainly improved from last night's blast and it looked as if it might stay that way for a while. Switching through the images before going to get on with other jobs, Mike was surprised to see Amyus running across the lawns towards the hotel. There was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen, but he was obviously running from something! Was this what Amyus had meant about the cameras not picking up things that were not there? Mike went downstairs and out onto the patio to greet their friend. Amyus saw him and started gesticulating towards the moor. A noticeably darker streak of cloud was moving over the moor towards the hotel, but Mike couldn't see anything else that would make Amyus so agitated. This cloud definitely hadn't shown up on the monitor though, even as a shadow! He was about to call Saira to come and see it too, but Amyus arrived and shouted to him.

"Don't wait! Get Saira and the children and take yourselves over to Sam and Kate's farm as quickly as you like. That cloud is the very thing I was worried about and if you value your lives, do as I say. NOW!"

Mike had never seen Amyus so scared before, so didn't ask any questions, but ran into the hotel and found the family in the kitchen doing some cooking.

"Saira, there's a problem. Amyus says we must leave now and go to Sam and Kate's place. He wasn't joking, I think something very strange is coming this way, so we need to go now!"

Saira made to gather a few things. Amyus had saved Mike from a big cat that had attacked them on the moor, so she trusted his judgement implicitly now.

"Leave it all and get the children into the car, I'll make sure all is secure here and join you. I'll be two minutes!"

When Saira, Jay and Ava got outside, the wind had risen alarmingly again. Amyus was waiting for them and ushered them into the car. A few moments later, Mike followed them and Amyus told him to go to Mark and Laura's home first, and impress on them that Sam and Kate's was the only place that would be safe for them now. They must move quickly, so as not to be caught in the rising storm. Otherwise Mike should stop for nothing until they were at the Wise's farm. Amyus said that he would join them later, but would try to buy them some time now. Mike nodded and drove as fast as was feasible in the rising storm, down the road to the Hannaford's farm. Amyus meanwhile, drew himself together, turned back and went to face the oncoming cloud.

Laura was watching the storm building up across the moor when she heard the squeal of wheels outside. The door to the kitchen was thrown wide and Mike dashed in looking totally wild.

"Laura!" He shouted, "Grab Theo and get into the car NOW!"

Laura started to protest, but Mike just said, "Amyus told us to get you out, so no arguments!"

"Mark is out with the sheep!" Laura cried. "I'll call him on the way!"

They literally jumped into the car, with Theo in his basket. All the excitement had woken him up and he was crying loudly, which set off the other two children. Mike was holding it together, though.

Laura was already on the phone,"Mark, there's an emergency, get to Sam's place NOW. Don't argue, I need you there! QUICKLY"

She hung up. Whatever Mark was saying cut off abruptly. She imagined that he was turning the pickup to head to the Wise farm already. Mike's car was buffeted by the wind and skidded over wet roads and loose leaves left over from the autumn fall. Every minute brought them closer to the farm and, if Amyus was right, safety! They skidded to a stop in the farm yard and got the children into the house. Sam and Kate were just looking out to see what the commotion was and were surprised by the door crashing open. A mob of people tumbled in, followed by a lot of wind borne debris, but as soon as they saw who it was, they both rushed to help. Sam was getting the door shut when a second vehicle screeched into the yard. Mark leapt out and Sam held the door until he got inside, then slammed it shut, locking it at the same time. The sounds of the storm were still raging outside as Sam went back into the kitchen.

"We'll get the children settled as soon as possible." Saira was getting blankets and wrapping them around Jay and Ava.

It was good that the group were all friends, so there was no need to stand on ceremony now. Kate suggested moving the little ones into the sitting room and getting them settled there. The adults would use the kitchen as a conference room. Five minutes later, Saira and Laura were telling stories and giving cuddles as needed, Kate had cleared the kitchen table and Sam was putting the kettle on for hot drinks. Mark and Mike had ventured out to bring in some more firewood that was stored in the farmhouse porch and were now stacking it in the fireplaces ready for use. No sense in hunkering down if they all froze to death, after all. When the jobs were all done and the house made secure, they took places around the table.

Mike brought them up to date. "I was using the security cameras to check for any storm damage when Amyus came running over the lawns. I went out to greet him and he pointed out a dark cloud that hadn't shown up on the monitors, moving over the moor in our direction. He actually looked frightened -- not something I've ever seen in him before -- and told me to take our family, pick up the Hannafords and get all of us over here as quickly as possible, where we would be 'safe'. He didn't say safe from what, but I trusted him as it was all so strange and he does seem to know how to deal with 'strange'. On the way, the storm blew up again and the rest you know.

"At this rate, it'll be worse than last night!" commented Mark.

There was still no sign of Amyus and they all began to feel that something terrible had happened when he came crashing into the kitchen through what was supposed to be a securely locked door. Mike went over and lifted him up from the floor where he had fallen as he came in, then closed the door and locked it again. He was given a chair and slumped into it.

"Thank you, thank you." He croaked. Kate gave him some tea to drink. "Just what was needed!" the little man said and flopped back into the chair.

The friends had never seen hm so exhausted and dishevelled. There were rips in his shirt and mud stains on his trousers, while his waistcoat had been torn almost in two. Even his skin, which was usually unblemished, was covered in tiny scratches and cuts. He sat quietly until he was breathing more evenly and then put his palms flat on the table and looked around him as if checking that everybody had made it. He breathed a sigh, possibly of relief and seemed to regain a bit of his usual sparkle.

"An old enemy has risen against us, it seems." he said, "And we must fight and win or lose everything. Tonight!"

A babble of questions rose up, but Amyus stopped them with a wave of his hand.

"So who ARE we going to fight?" Kate asked.

Amyus considered them all carefully, "Well, it's time to lay everything on the table, I think," He said. "Now you all use the term 'pixies' about the creatures who live in the woods on the moor and seem happy with the notion."

Kate replied, "I can't speak for us all, but yes, I do believe that's what they are!"

The others had their own opinions, but in the face of the current situation, nobody was totally against that idea at that moment.

"Good," resumed Amyus, "Then if I told you that what we have coming against us are fairies, could you accept that too?"

"Fairies?" There was a mixture of embarrassed laughter and more thoughtful murmurings from the group. Nobody spoke against the idea though.

Mark said, "My Grandad used to tell of the fairies, but he said that there weren't any left on the moor nowadays."

"And there weren't," Amyus picked up where he had paused. "Until those stupid men dug up one of the stones of banishment that were keeping them locked away. When they set it upright, it weakened the enchantment and the evil ones began to break through again."

They sat in silence, as they waited for Amyus to continue his story.

"Many years ago - several dozen of your generations in fact -- the pixies were constantly being attacked and enslaved by these fairies. It was a terrible time for all the inhabitants of the moor, men, animals and pixies alike. Eventually, a plan was made to drive them over the water and seal the way back with locking stones -- the Stones of Banishment. Skilled Men were paid to make the stones from an ore with a high iron content and the pixies showed them the carvings that were needed for the plan to work. The men then buried the stones along the north side of the moor and the enchantment was completed. Neither pixies nor fairies could withstand the touch of iron, so it was thought that they would stay where they were placed forever. " He rested for a second to collect his thoughts.

"As planned, a great uprising of pixies gathered and the two armies engaged in battle. At great cost, the pixies finally gained the upper hand, driving the fairies out of the land and across the water. The banishing stones were put into place and their runes held the powerful spell which prevented any of the evil from returning to the moor. Now that barrier is weakened and an advance guard is through the barriers and coming our way."

"An advance guard?" Laura asked, "This is all due to an advance guard? How much damage will be done if they all come back?"

"They are angry and hateful and seek revenge on those who banished them." Replied Amyus, "They will not stop until all are either destroyed or enslaved. Even Men will not be safe from them once they have a huge force behind them!"

The six friends looked at each other. They had no idea what should be done and it was totally unnerving! Saira had wetness around her eyes and Laura moved so that she could see Theo in his basket being entertained by Jay and Ava.

"Why bring everyone here?" Asked Sam, "Why our farm, Amyus?"

"Because Kate accepted our existence from the start and treated us with kindness and dignity. For this, the pixies have placed a protection on this house and the farm yard. The fairies will have quite a job to break through that!"

"I knew it felt right!" Cried Kate, "It gave me a good feeling to have done it and because of it, we get a chance to put everything right!"

Amyus looked serious, "There is one more thing." He looked at them all and his face was pale and thin. "The fairies cannot cross the enchantment or get near to the stones, but they have harnessed beasts to do their bidding. The big cats! There aren't many of them, but they will be in the first line of attackers. We shall have more than our work cut out if we are to resist their dual onslaught!"

The six around the table looked to each other again, a feeling of resolution growing.

"We can do this!" said Saira forcibly, " I will not be beaten by the stupidity of a few men and and an ages old war we have never heard of! What do we do Amyus?"

"The children must be protected, as they're going to be their main target," he said, "The fairies would take them and raise them as their own if they could, giving them a stronger foothold in this world of men. The women will have to stay here and act as a shield for them, while we men go to face our foe!"

Laura bristled, "If there's something that needs doing to solve this, I want in on it!" she almost shouted.

Amyus raised a calming hand. "There is no better protection existing than that of a mother for her children, so your place must be here with them. " He was adamant, "And I'll need some very heavy muscle if the solution lies where I think it does!" He nodded towards Mark and the other men.

"I'm in too!" Kate had jumped up to face Amyus, as if ready for an argument.

"No, no, my dear friend," Amyus moved over to her and put his hand on her stomach. Laura was taken aback by the memory of her Christmas visitor of almost a year ago. He smiled at Kate and spoke softly, "I did say ALL of the children, after all!"

Kate plopped back into her chair in amazement, slowly rubbing a hand over her still flat stomach. She made a few mouth movements, but didn't find anything to say, so went back to listening to the plan. Laura moved close to her and placed a hand on her arm for support.