Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

information from Harker, and more about how they were going to survive a meeting with the dreaded Red Man and his army. From whose territory no traveler had ever returned before. The drums grew louder and more threatening.
    "He's a great man," said Poogie, almost dreamily, from where he stood alone.
    "Not easy to understand, sometimes, but still a man of great wisdom. We belong to him, heart and soul. We would die for the Red Man. He will lead us all out of the darkness, put an end to the war, change the face of this world beyond recognition."
    "Whether everyone else wants it or not," said Bruin Bear.
    "How is he going to make these changes?" said Finlay. "By unleashing his army on everyone else? By forcing them to follow his way, rather than the way they've chosen for themselves?"

    "You don't understand," said Poogie. "He knows a truth that changes all of us who hear it. He saved me. He saved us all. He'll save the world, too."
    "Whether it wants to be saved or not," said Giles. "I've met his kind before."
    "No," said Poogie. "You've never met anyone like the Red Man." He wouldn't be drawn any farther.
    Finally they came to Harker's camp. His people had cleared an open space among the tall trees, and in it built a great wooden fortress, with high walls, slender towers, and suspended walkways. Toys in their thousands watched from all around as the paddle steamer slowed to a halt in the great dark lagoon that was the end of the River. The sound of the drums was deafening now, hammering on the air. Smoke rose from a hundred fires, burning scarlet and gold in the darkness between the trees. There were blazing torches on every side, the dancing flames casting uneasy shadows. There were toys of every kind, standing close together in and out of the trees, holding all kinds of weapons, silently watching the newcomers with unwavering eyes. Held back by the Red Man's will, but still wary and watchful, and openly menacing.
    Without warning, the drums fell silent. The army of toys didn't react at all.
    The sudden quiet was broken only by the crackling of hundreds of fires and torches, and the slow chugging of the paddle steamer's engines. Finlay and Giles looked slowly around them, careful to make no sudden move with their guns that might be misinterpreted. The Bear and the Goat stood very close together, holding hands, lost souls in the underworld. The light from the ship's lanterns made little impression on the surrounding gloom, and the crimson glare of the massed fires and torches only served to deepen the darkness between the trees, like burning coals in the night.
    "Welcome to Hell," Toby said quietly.

    "This isn't Hell," said Poogie. "This is home. Pull into the left-hand bank and lower the gangway. We mustn't keep Harker waiting."
    Giles looked up at Halloweenie on the bridge. "Sound the whistle. Let Harker know we're here. I don't want him thinking we're intimidated."
    "We are intimidated," said the Sea Goat.
    "Maybe," said Julian. "But Harker doesn't need to know that. Sound the whistle."
    The whistle sounded again and again as the Li'l Skeleton Boy hauled jerkily on the rope. It was loud and strident, pushing back the quiet, its overlapping echoes seeming to fill the Forest. The watching toys didn't stir in the least, but everyone on board the ship felt a little better.
    "Right," said Finlay. "Let's go see the Red Man. And remember—no shooting till we see the whites of their teeth."
    "If we have to start shooting, we're dead," said Giles. "Let's all keep very calm, people."
    "We're never going home," said the Sea Goat. "We're going to die here, in Hell."
    "Then die well," said Bruin Bear. "If that's all that's left to us."
    They made their way cautiously down the gangplank and onto the shore, looking around all the time for any sign of aggression, but the watching thousands of toys were still and silent. Poogie led the way, bouncing happily along without an obvious care in the world. Giles strode along behind him, his chin held high, as though he owned the place. Finlay kept Evangeline close at his side, his hand never far from his holstered gun. Julian stared straight ahead, his hands stuffed into his pockets so no one would see them shaking. Toby and Flynn stuck together, taking it all in, the camera bobbing along just above their heads.
    Bruin Bear and the Sea Goat brought up the rear. Halloweenie walked between
    them, holding their hands in his bony fingers. The Merry Mrs. Trusspot watched them go with her