If the Carp is who I think it is, I can’t go wrong. But if it isn’t, then …
‘This ’ere’s Lord Arthur, Master of the Lower House, Lord of the Far Reaches, Hero of the House, Eater of the Biscuit, and Rightful Heir of the whole lot,’ said Suzy, standing up again. ‘And I’m Suzanna Monday’s Tierce, so you’d better act a bit more respectful, if you don’t mind.’
‘Really?’ asked the Denizen in the tree. ‘I mean, I have faith and all, but are you really the Rightful Heir?’
‘Yes,’ said Arthur. ‘I am. Can you take us to the Carp?’
‘And you’re going to rescue us all from Feverfew’s dominion?’
‘What?’
‘Rescue us, like the Carp says you will.’
‘Uh, I have to talk to the Carp first.’
‘How many of you are there?’ asked Suzy. She was staring out between two of the trees, where more and more green-tinged Denizens were becoming visible as they moved out of cover.
‘Seven hundred and seventy-nine, at last count,’ said the Denizen as he slid down the tree trunk, his boot-spikes shredding bark. He landed and bowed in one smooth motion.
‘Allow me to present myself. I am Jebenezer, First Follower of the Carp, and formerly Second Mate of the Naiad, may her wooden bones rot in peace.’
Before Arthur could answer, a female Denizen pushed forward and bowed, declaring, ‘I am the Second Follower of the Carp, and my name is Pennina!’
‘I am the Third Follower,’ shouted someone else, farther back. ‘My name is Garam. I have faith in the Carp!’
A cacophony of voices followed, with Denizens shouting out their names, their numerical ranking as Followers, and various protestations of faith in the Carp, belief that the Rightful Heir would come, and other stuff that Arthur couldn’t hear properly over the din.
As they shouted, the Denizens moved closer and closer. More and more of them appeared out of the undergrowth, till there was a great crowd advancing on Arthur.
‘Uh, I think I’d like to see the Carp right now,’ said Arthur as he retreated back against a tree trunk. Many of the Denizens had forgotten to put away their Nothing-poisoned arrows, and there were lots of muddy, sharp arrowheads sticking out ahead of them, straight at Arthur.
‘The Rightful Heir says everyone take three steps back!’ shouted Suzy, but even her sharp voice was lost in the tumult.
‘I’m the Ninety-Ninth Follower —’
‘Hundred and Sixth —’
‘I believe —’
‘Faith in the —’
‘The Carp! The Carp!’
‘Three steps back!’ roared Jebenezer, at a volume to match Sunscorch’s best shout.
The Denizens halted, then — after some scuffling — stepped back. Arthur took a breath, found he couldn’t get a full lungful, and concentrated on staying calm.
‘Lord Arthur wants to see the Carp,’ said Suzy.
‘I’m in a bit of a hurry,’ Arthur added, a slight wheeze underlying his words. He looked at his watch. They’d been out of the submersible for two hours. Ten hours to go before the Balaena departed, and now he had nearly eight hundred Denizens thinking he was going to do something for them as well.
‘Of course, sir! Follow me!’ said Jebenezer. He pushed two Denizens aside and gestured at the others to move to make Arthur a path through the crowd. ‘It’s just natural high spirits, sir, most of us having been trapped on this island for so long, and in fear of recapture. Feverfew always sinks captured slaves.’
‘Sinks?’ asked Suzy.
‘In the Hot Lake,’ Jebenezer continued. ‘If the mud doesn’t drown you, or the heat burn you up, the patches of Nothing do the business. Nothing’s quick, of course, or should be. But Feverfew don’t let that happen. He’s got a yardarm rigged up so he can lower you in a bit at a time, like a leg or whatever. A hand usually. He likes to start with the hands —’
‘I get the idea!’ interrupted Arthur. He felt very tense. Every minute wasted could mean disaster, and he had so many problems and so many decisions to make. And then there was the asthma, lurking . . .
‘Where is the Carp?’ asked Suzy. ‘Is it far from here?’
‘Why, the Carp is under our feet, ma’am,’ said Jebenezer. ‘When the Carp first freed the slaves, that’s the first twenty, which is me and Pennina and Garam and Obelin and Herush and Peppertoe and Thin Edric and —’
‘Maybe save the names for later,’ said Arthur. ‘Just tell me the basic story.’
‘Well, when the Carp freed us from our shackles in the dead of night, we picked him up and carried him into these hills. He said if we had faith, and looked around, we’d find a place to shelter, a fortress safe from Feverfew. And sure enough, we soon found a mighty cave, and it has served us ever since as our home. And the Carp said that we must have faith that the Rightful Heir would one day come and bring us all back to the House, and blow me down if it isn’t happening, and me still here without being dissolved into Nothing or my bones bleaching out in the Stomach! Here we are.’