Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Rebellion

By this time Trumpkin and the two boys had reached the dark, narrow doorway that led into the interior of the fort.The two guard badgers jumped up, baring their sharp white teeth and screaming, "Who's there?" "Drupkin," answered the Dwarf, "I have brought here the old Kings of Narnia from the distant past." The Badger Guard bent his head and sniffed the children's hands. "It's finally here, thank goodness!" "Give some light, boys!" the dwarf greeted kindly. The taller Badger took out a torch from behind the door.Peter lit the torch and handed it to Trumpkin. "Please DLF lead the way," he said, "we are not familiar with the terrain here."

Trumpkin took the torch and led the way down the dark passage.It's a cold, dark, dank place, full of cobwebs and occasionally a bat flies by.The children had been outside since that morning at the station, and they couldn't help feeling as if they were walking into a trap or a prison. "Peter," whispered Edmund, "look at those frescoes on the stone walls, aren't they from many years ago? But we're older than that! When we last came, there wasn't even a stone wall here." !" "Yes," said Peter, "it brings back many memories." The dwarf went on, then turned right, then left, went down a few steps, walked a while and turned left again.At this moment, they saw a ray of light ahead - a glimmer of light from under the door.At the same time, they heard voices speaking.The dwarf told them that the center of the fort had arrived, and the voices in the house seemed to be very angry, so loud that the people in the house did not notice that someone was coming outside. "

"I don't like talking loudly like that," Trumpkin said softly to Peter. "Let's stop and listen to what they are saying." So the three of them stopped outside the door without moving. "You know very well," said a voice, ("This is the king," said the dwarf softly.) "You asked why the horn was not blown that morning when the sun rose, and have you forgotten that Trump King just As soon as we set off, Miraz’s army rushed towards us? In order to survive, we fought bloody battles for more than three hours. As soon as I had a chance to breathe, I blew the magic horn.”

"Of course I haven't forgotten that." It was the angry voice. "At that time my men fought in the most dangerous places, and one out of every five dwarfs fell." "This is Nick Brick. whispered Trumpkin. "Don't be ashamed, Dwarf!" said a gruff voice. ("This is Trufflehunter.") "We all work as hard as the Dwarfs, and none as hard as His Majesty King Caspian." "You can say what you like," said Nickbrik angrily. "The trouble is, the trumpet was blown too late. Or else it wasn't magical at all. We haven't gotten the slightest help yet anyway. You, you great priest, all-powerful magician, you know-it-all! What do you expect us to expect from Aslan, from King Peter, and all else?"

"I must admit - I cannot deny - that I am deeply disappointed in the potency of the Horn," was replied. ("That's Dr. Knells," said the little man. "To put it bluntly, your baby is useless, your prophecy has failed, and you are now at the end of your rope." Nick Brick said bitterly to the loyal doctor, "Then, you'd better stand aside and see what others do." Do it. That's why I-" "By Aslan's name! We will surely get the help of the gods," said Trufflehunter. "Be patient and follow our example. The help will come, and it may be at the door."

"Bah!" Nick Blake couldn't hear it. "You badgers know how to wait, wait, wait patiently, until the sky falls and everyone dies. I tell you, we won't wait any longer. The food will be gone soon." It's going to be eaten up. We pay dearly for every battle, and our troops are starting to desert." "Why?" said Trufflehunter, "I'll tell you why: it's because the warriors are running rumors that we've summoned the ancient kings to his aid but in vain. Before leaving, Trumpkin said (that might It was his last words), and if you had to blow that horn, don't let the army know what happened, and don't let everyone know what we expected. What happened? That very night, the whole secret was known."

"Shut your mouth!" Nick Blake was furious. "How dare you imply that I've leaked a secret! Take it back, or—" "Listen, you two, be quiet!" interrupted King Caspian, "and I should like to know what Nickbreaker has been hinting at. What do you think we should do now, Nickbreaker?" Rick? But before you express your opinion, please tell everyone what the business of these two strangers you brought to our headquarters, with their ears pricked up but their mouths tightly shut." "They're my friends," said Nick Brick, "if you weren't friends with Trumpkin and Badger yourself, why would you stand here? And that old half-breed guy in the black robe, if it weren't for you My friend, what right does he have to stand here? Why can’t I bring my friends here?”

"Your Majesty is the king of a country, don't forget that you swore to be loyal to him." Truffle Hunter reminded him solemnly. "Yes, yes, the etiquette of a monarch and his ministers is insurmountable." Nick Brick laughed, "But in this dark cave, our conversation is better. You know—of course, he also knows— If we don't try to help him out of this peril within a week, whose king does the Delma boy want to be? Hmph! Then he'll be nothing!" - "Perhaps your new friends would like to say something themselves," said Knells, turning to the two strangers. "Hey, who are you and what do you do?"

"Dear Doctor," it was a thin, weeping voice, "I am a poor old woman, and I am very grateful to the venerable little man and his sincere friendship. Your Majesty, praise God for giving You have such a handsome face. You don't have to worry about me, an old woman who is huddled with severe rheumatism and can only walk with the help of crutches. I know a few trivial spells-of course I can't compete with you By contrast, my lord doctor—if you will allow me, I will gladly cast a few spells against our enemies. For I hate them, and believe me, I hate no one more than I do."

"Extremely interesting and—er—satisfying," said Dr. Knells. "I think I know who you are now, ma'am. Nick Blake, and perhaps another friend of yours would be pleased too." Shall I introduce myself?" A dull voice sounded, and goose bumps immediately appeared on Peter's body. "I am hungry, I am thirsty, once I bite the enemy, I will not let go. Even if I die so heroically, I can only cut off the piece of meat in my mouth from the enemy's body and bury it in the grave with me. Even if I don’t eat or drink for a hundred years, I won’t die. If I lie on the ice for a hundred nights, I won’t be frozen. I can drink a river of blood in one breath, and my stomach won’t break. Tell me, Where is your enemy?"

"You brought these two on purpose to announce your plans, did you?" asked Caspian. "Nice," said Nick Brick, "I want to implement this plan with their help." For the next minute or two Trumpkin and the boys heard only Caspian and his friends discussing in low tones, but could not make out the details.After a while, Caspian said aloud: "Okay, Nick Blake, let's hear your plan." A long silence followed, until the children began to wonder whether the little man was going to speak at all.At this time, Nebrek spoke, and he lowered his voice, as if he didn't even like what he was about to say. "All that has to be said has been said and all that has to be done has been done. None of us know if ancient Narnia is real or not. Trumpkin didn't believe the legends at all, and I wanted to try. So We blew that magic horn, what happened? Assuming that King Peter and his brothers and sisters really existed in this world, they either couldn’t hear our plea for help, or they couldn’t come, or they had already become our enemies—— " "Perhaps they are on their way?" Trufflehunter interrupted him. "You can go on and on until Miraz catches us all and feeds them to his dogs. As I said, we've experimented with one of the treasures of old legend, and it's been useless. Situation That's it. As the saying goes, when the sword is broken, there is the dagger; there are other powers besides kings and queens in ancient legends. Why don't we try to appeal to other powers?" "If you mean Aslan," said Trufflehunter, "it is associated with the kings of old. They are its servants. If it won't send them—I believe it will— —will it come in person?" "Aslan and the kings are bound together, you are right," said Nickbreaker, "and they act together. Then Aslan is either dead, or not with us, or , some greater force prevented it from coming. And if it did come, how would we know that it would be our friend? In many ancient legends, its association with us dwarves is not Very friendly, even with some animals, ask the wolf. Then again, as far as I know, Aslan only came to Narnia once, and only for a short time. We don't have to. Thinking of Aslan. I thought of another." There was no answer, and for several minutes there was no sound in the room, and Edmund could almost hear the Badger's breathing. "Who are you talking about?" asked Caspian at last. "I mean the one who was much more powerful than Aslan. If the old legends are true, she was the one who ruled Narnia for many, many years." "White Witch!" Several voices exclaimed simultaneously.According to the noise in the room, Peter judged that three people jumped up suddenly. "Yes," said Nick Brick, slowly, sternly, "the person I'm talking about is a witch. Sit down, and don't be like a child who freaks out at the name. We need to be able, He who has the ability to help, and this person must be on our side. Speaking of ability, the ancient legends have already told us that the witch once defeated Aslan and tied him in a ball, on this big rock Did you kill it?". "But the legend tells us that Aslan was willing to be bound in order to free Edmund, and was later resurrected," said the Badger sharply. "Yes, that's what it says," answered Nickelbrick, "but have you noticed that very little has been heard of him since. He has disappeared and disappeared. How do you account for that?" Is it possible that it never came back to life at all? It is not mentioned in later legends because there is nothing left to say, is it so?" "A hero who has achieved a brilliant victory can stand on his own as a king without the help of others." Nick Brick said.Then Trufflehunter let out a low growl of exasperation. "And what of the king and the result of his reign?" went on Nickelbrick. "They vanished, too. It was very different with the Witch. They say she reigned for a hundred years—a hundred winters. It can be said that that is the ability! That is what makes her different." "But, as heaven and earth testify, she has always been our worst and most dangerous enemy in legend," said Caspian. Wasn't she a tyrant ten times more terrible and loathsome than Miraz?" "Maybe so," said Nick Brick coldly, "for you humans, maybe she was, if there were you humans in that era; and for some animals, probably too—I believe she Knock the beaver family to the ground and step on another foot, at least you won't see a beaver in Narnia today. However, she has always had a good relationship with us dwarves. I am a dwarf, of course I stand Speak for yourself. We are not afraid of witches." "But you have joined us," said Trufflehunter. "True, but what good does it do my people? Who is sent on the most dangerous missions? We dwarves. Who gets smaller and smaller when there's not enough food? Or us dwarves! Who..." "Nonsense! All nonsense!" cried the Badger. "Therefore," Nick Brick ignored, raising his voice to the highest pitch, "if you cannot help my people, I will go to someone who can." "You are open treason!" said Caspian, drawing his sword. "Put your sword away, Caspian," said Nickbrik unabashedly, "trying to commit murder in a meeting, eh? I warn you not to do stupid things! You think I'm afraid of you? There are three of you, and so are we Three." "Come on, then!" growled Trufflehunter furiously, but was cut short. "Slow, slow," said Dr. Knells, "you're talking too fast. The witch is dead, and all the legends bear it out. Nick Blake is still going to ask the witch for help, which is What's the meaning?" The dull and creepy voice sounded again: "Oh! Is that so?" The thin, weeping voice continued: "Wow! God bless that little heart, Your Majesty, don't worry about the life and death of Mrs. Bai - we all respectfully call her Mrs. Bai. The venerable doctor said You must have been joking with my poor old woman when you said that? My dear doctor, learned doctor, can the witch die? She may appear in front of us at any time." "Call her, we are ready," said the dull voice, "draw a circle and prepare a blue fire." As the Badger roared louder and louder, and as the Doctor cried out "What!" came Caspian's thunderous voice from within: "This is your plan, Nick Brick! Use black magic to summon the cursed devil of the world! Now I know your companions—a witch, a wolf!" The three outside the door then heard a commotion inside, with high-pitched howling and clanging of metal.The children and Trumpkin broke in.Peter saw at a glance a hideous gray monster, half man, half wolf, which was crazily plunging on a boy about his own age; Rolled up into a ball; Trumpkin came to the front of the witch.The witch's pointed nose and chin protruded out of her face, like a pair of pliers. Her dirty hair was scattered in front of her face, and her hands had just strangled the doctor's neck.Trumpkin raised his hand with a sword, and the witch's ugly head rolled to the ground.Then the lamp was also knocked over, and the room was pitch black, only the sound of sword strikes, gnashing of teeth, punches, and kicks was heard, which lasted about six seconds, and then there was a dead silence. "Are you all right, Ed?" "I—I think it's all right," Edmund said with a sigh of relief. "I got that bastard Nick Brick, and he's alive." "God bless, God bless!" was Trumpkin's angry voice, "how are you sitting on top of me, you! Hurry up, you're as heavy as an elephant!" "Yo, DLF? Sorry, is this better?" "Hey, hey...you put your boot in my mouth! Go away, you!" Trumpkin wriggled vigorously under him. "Where is King Caspian?" asked Peter. "Here I am," answered a faint voice, "I have been bitten." At this time, everyone heard the sound of a match being struck. It was Edmond.The little flame lit up his face, which was pale and dirty.He groped about and found a candle (oil lamps had long since been used, for all the oil had been eaten up).Edmund lit the candle and put it on the table, and the room was suddenly brightened.The people on the ground stood up crookedly.The six people looked at each other by candlelight. "It looks like none of the enemies have escaped," said Peter, looking at the ground. "That's the witch, dead (he quickly looks away). This is Nick Brick, also killed. Ha, I guess This guy is a human wolf. I haven’t seen this thing for a long time. It has a wolf head and a human body, which means that it was once a prisoner who committed the crime of beheading. At the moment of execution, the super-born turned into a wolf, and it turned out like this A monster. And you, if I guess right, are King Caspian?" "Yes," replied the boy opposite, "but I don't know who you are." "He is His Majesty the Supreme King Peter." Trumpkin hastily introduced. "You are welcome, Sire," said Caspian earnestly. "You are also welcome, Your Majesty," Peter smiled. "You know, I am not here to replace your throne, but to help you obtain it." "Your Majesty." A respectful voice sounded beside Peter.He turned around and saw the brave and loyal badger in front of him.Peter reached out, hugged it, and kissed its furry cheek.Peter's behavior is not at all girly, because he is the Supreme King "You are good! You never lost confidence even in the most difficult moments." "Your Majesty appreciates it," said Trufflehunter modestly. "We animals don't change our minds, and I'm still a badger. We'll stay the same." "I am very sorry for Nickbreaker," said Caspian, "though he hated me from the first meeting. Long hours of suffering and hatred have twisted his mind. If we get decisive in a short time victory, he would make a very good little man in time of peace." "You're bleeding," said Peter, looking at him. "Yes, I was bitten by that wolf." It took a lot of time to clean and bandage the wound.When all this was done, Trumpkin said, "All right. Don't do anything else, let's have breakfast." "Don't eat here," said Peter quickly. "No, you can't eat it here." Caspian looked at the corpses on the ground, feeling sick. "We've got to have somebody come and take these corpses out." "Throw those two fellows in a pit and bury them," said Peter, "Give the dwarf's body to his men, and let them bury him according to their custom." After half an hour they finally sat down to breakfast in the next room.The food in front of them was not attractive: a small piece of cold bear meat, a small piece of hard cheese, an onion, and a jar of boiled water for each person.However, judging from the way they devoured it, anyone would think that they were eating a once-in-a-lifetime delicious meal.