Eight; A Trip To The Cells

"Hey, come on fellas," I held my hands up to protest my innocence, "Surely there has been a mistake, you can't just lock me up."

"Shut it," said one of the soldiers. He then circled around me and jabbed at my backside with his halberd.

"Steady," I yelled even as I was jumping forward. "Vindictive bastard."

With no other alternative I marched obediently along in the direction I was herded. Old Red was up ahead leading the way, while the soldiers circled me, still with their halberds levelled at my chest, and backside.

"Where are you taking me?" I called to Old Red, and received another jab in the bum. "Ouch!" I looked at the vicious leprechaun responsible, he just scowled back at me, "What have I done?" He jabbed me again, so I shut up.

They led me along a twisting path of narrow corridors and wide open caverns. We passed more leprechauns on the way. Most stopped to stare at me in open mouthed astonishment. A couple of them approached Old Red, but he sent them scurrying away with a quick stern look.

It seemed to me that there was an entire settlement in these caves, wherever these caves were. They looked to have been formed naturally, but then I'm no expert. We seemed to be sticking to the main thoroughfares, but there were many smaller caverns and passageways that led off from the ones we followed. The walls of the caves all glowed and were covered in that thin layer of ice I had noticed when I first appeared.

After a few minutes of walking, and being continually stabbed in the behind, we arrived at our destination. We turned down one of the lager corridors that led off from the larger cavern we were passing through. The cavern they led me into instantly remained me of one of those busy American police stations you see in the movies. There was a long counter that ran across the cavern just passed the entrance. Behind the counter leprechaun policemen were yelling, others were holding their suspects by the elbows and checking their possessions into small wooden boxes. The rest of the cavern was taken up with chairs and desks. I looked around and saw a couple of people asleep at their desks.

I was herded across to the counter. Old Red spoke in a soft voice to the leprechaun manning the desk. The cop leprechaun looked at me.

"Who sent you?" he snapped, I almost expected him to have a Bronx accent.

"Nobody," I was about to say more but he spoke right over the top of me.

"Why have you come here?"

"It was an accident, I..."

"An accident eh? We get lots of those here." He scowled across the counter at me then turned to Old Red and said, "Put him in a cell until he feels like talking."

"No wait, I..." I was jabbed in the backside again and herded towards the back of the cavern. There were several cells carved into the rear wall of the cavern. We passed a couple before Old Red settled on one.

Sitting on a bench in the cell was a big blue bear.

Chapter Nine