“WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT?” STAMMERED OKSA, LEANING forward over the railing of the grandstand.
No one replied: everyone was much too busy looking at the enormous dinosaur-like creature, at least thirteen feet high, floating imposingly on the water. Its pale grey, bulbous body was as smooth as a whale’s and its skin gleamed in the daylight. Swivelling its small head clad in a leather helmet at the end of an exceptionally long neck, the glistening creature looked at the crowd with gentle eyes and Oksa could have sworn that it bowed to her in greeting.
“It looks like an Elasmosaurus,” murmured Zoe.
“Or the Loch Ness monster,” suggested Oksa, fascinated. The winged commentator, like the spectators, was beside itself:
“And here is the magnificent, the prodigious, the monumental Nestor!”
“So that’s what a Nestor looks like,” said Oksa in quiet surprise.
It was one thing reading about this creature in the Memorary and quite another seeing it in the flesh.
“To give Ocious his due,” broke in Abakum, “despite the water shortages, he managed to keep alive a pair of Nestors deep in an underwater cave in the Peak Ridge Mountains. The cave was almost dry when our allies took us there and the poor Nestors were dying. However, fortunately equilibrium was restored, it began to rain and we’re all safe and sound.”
Oksa shivered at the thought of this extraordinary creature dying slowly from dehydration at the bottom of a barren cave. A golden box fastened by a strap to the Nestor’s back caught her attention, as a flaming circle about thirty feet in diameter formed around the creature. She realized then that Brown Lake was being turned into a giant playing field at least as big as four football pitches—by Outside measurements.
At the same time, various Getorixes and Polyglossipers were erecting goals made of woven creepers at either end of the lake. Floating fifteen feet above the water’s surface, each goal was guarded by a Polypharus wearing a helmet in the colours of the team it represented. The octopus-like creatures were belligerently waving their eleven tentacles around in the goalmouths.
“Fantastic!” exclaimed Oksa.
“We’ll now ask the Shaftshooter for each team to join the other players,” announced the megaphone-bird.
Oksa looked at it in amusement. How could such a tiny creature have such a stentorian voice?
“What a remarkable bird!” she muttered.
“It must have fallen into a box of Amplivox Capacitors when it was a fledgling,” remarked Zoe, straight-faced.
“You’re not kidding!” replied Oksa.
“Who’s been chosen?” continued the bird. “We’ll find out in just a second.”
Two Gargantuhens appeared in the sky, each bearing a player with a bow and quiver on his back. There was a symbol on each saddle: one had a winged eel and the other had a scarab armed with a shield.
“So the Shaftshooters are Gunnar for the Speedy Eels versus Sigurd for the Scrappy Scarabs!” remarked the commentator.
The two Shaftshooters sat proudly on their Gargantuhens and, joined by their teams, flew around the lake to loud applause from the crowd.
“Cheer your teams on, please! The match is about to start!” yelled the yellow bird.
As dignified as swans, the two Gargantuhens made for the centre of the lake.
“Take your places, Shaftshooters, and may the best team win!”
Men and women spread out around the lake and began to blow into their Granok-Shooters, firing a host of Oscillating Granoks into the sky. Bouncing off the air currents, these Granoks caused a swirling wind which made it difficult for the now dishevelled Gargantuhens to remain in the air. The huge flying birds struggled to stay on an even keel, while the two Shaftshooters, whose balance was threatened by every gust of wind, battled to keep their seats. The Oscillating Granoks were wreaking just as much havoc below, creating high waves and dangerous eddies on the water’s surface.
After successfully approaching the bright perimeter, one of the Shaftshooters was about to fire a round-tipped arrow when he suddenly listed to one side: his Gargantuhen had just been hit in the flank by a wave at least twelve feet high, causing it to pitch badly. The crowd held its breath, unlike the commentator:
“Gunnar is in danger! Oh no, a fall will ruin the Speedy Eels’ chances of winning the title of Best Shaftshooter of Edefia! Gunnar has just grabbed the feathers of the Gargantuhen to right himself. Now that’s a brave move, ladies and gentlemen, a very brave move!”
Everyone knew that the enormous flying birds hated their feathers being pulled, as everyone could hear from the noisy screeches of disapproval uttered by Gunnar’s mount. The unfortunate Gargantuhen was bucking furiously. During this time, the player from the opposing team was emptying his quiver at the little box on the Nestor’s back. The enormous water dragon was leaping around in the water, adding to the choppy waves caused by the endless volleys of Oscillating Granoks. Gunnar drew nearer to the bright perimeter and fired his first arrow, which bounced off the Nestor’s thick skin. A second arrow landed in the water as Sigurd prepared to fire again.
“Who will get the Stinger first? The suspense is killing me, Gracious, ladies and gentlemen, creatures and plants!”
However, the very next shot hit home, as all the spectators seemed to have expected: a spray of light shot from the box on the Nestor’s back like a sparkling firework. The crowd leapt to their feet in the terraces, shouting with glee.
“Yes! The Stinger has just been released! And it was Gunnar who scored the first point for the Speedy Eels on his third attempt. Well done, Gunnar!”
The ovation spread rapidly through the terraces. The Nestor turned its head and deftly opened the box on its back with the tip of its snout and took out a large ball that sparkled like a diamond in the sunshine. Everyone could see it, even those sitting in the back rows. Holding it carefully in its teeth, the Nestor extended its immensely long neck to Gunnar and dropped the Stinger into his hands with unexpected finesse for such a massive creature. Having accomplished its mission, it turned and dived into the dark waters of the lake, sending up a spray of glittering droplets. It reappeared a few seconds later, escorted by its mate.
“Ballrushers and Ballwarks, please take your places. Our Gracious is about to start the game!” announced the winged commentator.
“What?” spluttered Oksa. “What do I have to do?”
“You Vertifly to the two Nestors,” said Abakum. “Gunnar will hand you the Stinger. Then you have to throw the Stinger as high as you can.”
“Is that all? Okay, I think I can do that, be back in a tick!” exclaimed Oksa with a broad grin.
In the meantime the eight players, wearing clothing and helmets in their team colours, were seething with impatience. They took up their starting positions with their Aeropellers upended in front of them, as the Polypharuses waved their tentacles in the goalmouths.
“Our Beloved Gracious, it’s your turn!” informed the megaphone-bird.
Oksa Vertiflew to the centre of the lake, where Gunnar bowed to her and held out the sparkling ball. An enormous hourglass emerged from the water and rose as high as the Aegis would allow. Oksa drew her arm back for maximum momentum and hurled the Stinger into the air as hard as she could. The hourglass slowly turned over so that the silvery sand within it could begin trickling through.
The crowd yelled with excitement as Oksa flew back to the Gracious grandstand. The hourglass had almost finished turning—it would only be a few more seconds before the match could start.
At this signal, the players from the two teams raced towards the centre of the lake on their Aeropellers. The Stinger, which was only a few yards from the surface of the water, was immediately knocked into the air by a strong blow from a Nestor’s tail. The players set off in pursuit and a player in green was the first to catch it.
“Yeeees, and it’s Lucy from the Scrappy Scarabs who gets there first!” shouted the feathered presenter.
“Lucy!” exclaimed Oksa. “Brilliant!”
“Careful!” continued the yellow bird. “Remember that the Stinger has to be passed at least three times between members of the same team before they can score a goal. Second pass to Holger. Ooohhh, Spears has just fallen, hit head-on by a wave. We need a team of Croakettes, now!”
Spears had just plunged headfirst into the lake. The frogs with dragonfly wings immediately flew to the aid of the player in distress and lifted him free of the turbulent waters. On the bank, a barrage of Oscillating Granoks was shot into the air, unleashing a raging storm and churning up high waves in the lake, with the help of the Nestors which were smacking the water with their tails to add to the tumult. The ball was thrown between the players who were speeding past on their Aeropellers, trying to avoid being overturned by gusts of wind and towering waves. They used several tactics: some of them surfed the waves, standing on their Aeropellers; some slalomed between the excitable Nestors; while others went for speed, cutting through the rollers breaking on the surface of the lake. Suddenly the crowd started yelling: the Stinger had puffed up in the Scrappy Scarabs player’s hands.
“Four… Three… Two,” counted the megaphone-bird in a dramatic voice, while Lucy looked all around for a player in her team.
Everyone held their breath. Just in time, Lucy was able to throw the Stinger to one of her team members.
“Yeees! Lucy escaped the Stinger’s merciless spines by the skin of her teeth!”
Oksa frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“After it’s been in someone’s hands for ten seconds, the Stinger turns into a large spiny sea urchin which, as you can imagine, can be rather painful,” explained Abakum.
Oksa pulled a face and concentrated again on the exciting match, particularly as a player in green was about to hurl the fearsome Stinger into her opponent’s goal. The Polypharus in blue raised its long tentacles to block the throw, waving them around in all directions. But it was no use—the ball shot into the goal over its head.
“One point for the Scrappy Scarabs! One all!” cheered the commentator enthusiastically.
The two teams immediately resumed play, looking even more determined. Suddenly a member of the Speedy Eels rushed at a Scrappy Scarabs player. Focusing her attention on the ball, which was bouncing all over the place, the player in green didn’t see the player in blue heading straight for her. The blue player thumped into her, stunning her and sending her crashing into another member of her team with a loud clatter. Their Aeropellers broke into a thousand pieces and the players fell into the water. The crowd rose to their feet, booing the player in blue.
“Foul!” yelled the commentator. “Foul committed by the Speedy Eels! That’s an illegal move! Junius is suspended from the game for a duration of fifteen silver grains. Bring on new Aeropellers for the Scrappy Scarabs!”
The game continued like this for about forty-five minutes, incorporating all kinds of falls, courageous passes and aerobatic Aeropeller manoeuvres, as well as rougher tactics from time to time, which were clearly against the rules, like the move that had led to Junius’s temporary suspension. When the last grain of silvery powder had flowed through the hourglass, the tiny megaphone-bird whistled to mark the end of the match, to the cheering of the excited spectators.
“The Speedy Eels scored three points, as well as qualifying for the prize for Best Shaftshooter of Edefia. Bravo, let’s have a round of applause for them, please! As for their opponents, the Scrappy Scarabs scored four points, so they are the winners of today’s match. Hurrah! Let’s hear it for the winners!”