The Pearl Fox

Stone Heads

Flora didn't attempt to remove the pearls. A curse was a curse and none as dark as this one. She sometimes hated herself for putting the necklace on in the first place. She understood what they are, since Vandox had told her their dreadful story. That afternoon was under a clear lavender sky, tinged with warmth and the scent of grass. They rode on horses and went through some lush green forests, and they often saw grazing red elks. On their ride to Dream Rocks, they had also passed green sloping hills, grain fields, flower decked tors, woodlands and small bogs with wading birds and turtles. 

Nearer the port city of Dream Rocks, they arrived to a grassy landscape peppered with curious stone monoliths, shaped like human heads. There were one hundred and twelve of the large stone heads on the sweeping plain near Dream Rocks city. They were different sizes and the smallest was four feet tall and the largest stone head was as high as 15 feet tall. All were carved from rhyolite and scoria, then given various facial expressions . Some of the faces on the stone heads were smiling, while others seemed unhappy. Some looked bemused, some were laughing, a couple were yawning, raging, tired, but a number of them simply stared ahead without any expression. They were placed there more than thousands of years ago, and positioned by their builders towards the East to witness the sun rise every morning.

Seeing them for the first time made her inquisitive as a small child. "What are they?" Flora dismounted from her horse to look up close to one of the stone heads.

"Sacred monoliths of Diaphry," Vandox answered. "Come on and get back on the horse. We've got a meeting to get to."

"Are there volcanoes in the South of Diaphry?" she asked. 

"No, well, there hasn't been any for billions of years. The nearest volcano is in the Red Layers."

"But that's so far north!"

"Yes, about seven thousand miles away. Why do you ask about that now?"

"Because the stone heads are made of volcanic rock. I was just wondering how they got to be all the way down here." Flora pondered on this as she climbed back onto the horse. 

For the first time, Vandox was lost for words. He didn't know how to respond to her little observation about the stones. It wasn't anything that he would choose to dwell on. His biggest worry was Flora's accursed necklace. As long as she kept it on, she would be fine. It made him feel sick just to imagine her being forgetful and just taking it off without thinking. 

Flora felt a buzzing sensation around her neck, and it wasn't the only time it happened. The pearls trembled a little as if they were made of bees. Once before, the pearls turned wet and oozed snot on her. She had to run into the nearest pool and wash it off, without taking off the necklace. 

"It's doing it again!" she cried. "The pearls are being strange."

"Keep them on, and don't be tempted to take them off. The necklace wants you to do that. Stay calm, Flora."

"I wouldn't mind keeping on a pearl necklace for the rest of my life but it feels horrible. They do frighten me and I'm scared!" she tried to keep her composure, as a member of the Night Patrol, but since her experience working with Vandox, her life had been turned upside down. 

They reached the city of Dream Rocks, that was by the coast of South Diaphry. It was a harbour city, with plenty of noise. The port was one of the busiest in Diaphry, and near the docks were open markets, taverns and shops. The moored ships included the sleek white galleons, elaborate plate fleets, small fruit coloured canoes and sloops. Many were merchant ships and fishing boats. There was only one cog anchored in the water, and that stood out amongst the rest of the vessels. 

"Where are the war ships?" Flora asked, as they walked along the promenade that zigzagged from the plain and into the city. 

"Starbase and Luniapolis," Vandox replied. "Dream Rocks is just a small city".  

The pearls started to feel hot and she wanted to cry. They turned down a narrow street between villas, and the pearl necklace turned to boiling. Flora screamed and pulled the necklace but the heat stung her hands. Vandox stopped her trying to taken them off. He placed the necklace on the fabric of her collar, and it wasn't touching her skin, although the pearls were burning. Flora was crying and hysterical. 

"Please make it stop! Let me take it off!"

"Flora! No!" Vandox was afraid that she would die if that happened. He wanted to help her so much but in this case, he was powerless. All he could do was take her to visit a wizard called Gloder Max, who was an old friend of his father. As a boy, Vandox was taken to Dream Rocks by his father to do some fishing and to meet Gloder Max, who told stories about pirates, mysteries, magic and amazing animals. He remembered the wizard being rather fat, with a head of shaggy dark hair and a full black beard. Vandox saw the familiar grey castle that was built on a crag, with its stained glass windows. There were fish statues in the yard, and various birds and animals screeching in nearby trees. Flora wiped the tears from her eyes, and the pearls cooled down, although the heat remained as a rash on her skin.

Gloder Max had become a very old man with a stoop. He was shorter than Vandox but the same height as Flora. His hair was gone now, and his black beard became white.  His winkled spotted large hands touched the Hag Pearls around Flora's neck, and he puzzled on it. "A curse is a disease, and diseases are a curse," he said. "Just don't move." Gloder Max went away to search for things in his many cupboards, drawers and boxes. 

Vandox was starting to give up and look for help elsewhere, as Flora kept wiping away fresh tears, and Gloder Max didn't find what he wanted. Then in a sudden cry of glee, Gloder Max found it. He had a small leather bag with a black tin inside. He opened this and removed a white roll of adhesive fabric. He unfurled the bandage and wrapped it carefully around the pearl necklace. Once he bandaged the necklace, he went over it again and again until the necklace was buried under thick linen. Then he quickly slipped the bandaged necklace over Flora's head. He took it into his kitchen and put the bandaged necklace over a bunch of bananas. He carefully unwrapped the bandage until it was all off the necklace.

"Vandox!" he called, and the younger man appeared in the kitchen looking relieved. Vandox was so glad for Flora being safe now. He noticed that the dreadful Hag Pearls rested over a group of bananas. After Gloder Max briefly told him what he'd done, he removed the pearls from the bananas. Quickly the bananas turned black with decay. 

"I will have to destroy this necklace," Gloder Max old him. "It won't be easy. They're very old and secrete a poison. Hag Pearls are rare and someone purposely collected them all to make this ferocious weapon."