“There, you’ll be fine. And we’ll find our way back home. Meanwhile, let’s see where the road takes us, and maybe find something to help Liesel when we return.” She gave me a ‘buck up’ look, and I smiled back.
“All right, are we ready?” I asked. “George Meredith said it best when he wrote, “Enter these enchanted woods, you who dare.” So…let’s dare.”
And with that, I stepped over the line, into the Dark Woodland.
The woodland was a dramatic change—andmore in energy than in just the vast expanse of forest that stretched out to both sides, and ahead. The energy shifted the moment I stepped over the threshold. Everything fell into a muted hush, and I immediately felt like the eyes of the forest were on us. There was a sentience to the trees, in fact—to the soil, the rocks. It permeated everything, and I could feel it reaching out to examine us.
Whatever the presence was, I wasn’t afraid of it. Cautious? Yes. Respectful? Definitely. The forest was ancient—so ancient that I couldn’t imagine how old it was. And yet, conversely, it had only been generated into existence for a few years. Yet, the Sym presence of the forest had aged, as if it truly existed somewhere and had just been ported in.
“Being an Elf is kind of cool,” I said. “I can sense the forest watching us.”
“What’s it like?” Brynn asked. “Is it hostile?”
I reached out, searching for guidance. A series of images flickered through my mind. Camp fires made with already dried wood, safely, felt fine. Cutting branches without permission?Brought quick retribution. Hunting for food? Not a problem, except if we didn’t ask the gods of nature for permission. Fighting for our lives? The images showed fighting orcs or goblins with no problem, but fighting with Elves or nature spirits? Definitelynotokay.
“Not if we respect the forest and its natural inhabitants. Orcs, goblins, creatures from the netherworld, they’re all fair game. I suggest we try to avoid as many fights as we can. We stick to traveling during the day and hole up at night.” I didn’t want to try to find our way through the forest at night. I had a feeling that trails might disappear on us. Fae energy permeated the woodland.
“Okay, let’s get moving,” Thornhold said. “We have a long way to go, to reach the Summer Kingdom, and we’re looking for waypoints along the way. Which means we’ll need to keep our eyes open, and hopefully we’ll manage to find them without too much problem.”
We set out at a good pace, heading into the woodland. We’d brought the map that Liesel had given us, and there were markers approximating where the waypoints might be, but she warned us they were only approximations. There were more complete maps in the database, but the database had been destroyed in the attack.
“We’ve got probably four to five days travel before we reach the area of the forest where the waypoint should be,” I said.
“Our food should last until then,” Reggie said.
“I can hunt and you and Ray can fish, right?” I asked.
“Yes, and Liesel gave us a telescoping fishing rod, so we actually had a chance of catching something in the streams. It would help to have bait, so if we could dig some worms and keep them moist, along with some dirt, then we wouldn’t have to scramble for bait once we find a stream. I figure the more wecan forage along the way, the longer the staples like bread and cheese will last us,” he said.
“Good idea,” Brynn said. “I wish Geoff could have come with us.”
“I do too, but he has good reason to stay behind,” I said. “Hold on—” I froze. There was a sound in the bushes to our left. The forest was thick with conifers. Interspersed between the tall firs were the slender, smooth trunks of birch trees, ghostly white among the dark trunks of the conifers. The leaves were burnished copper, the color of fall. The wind was rising and clouds were rolling in.
I turned slowly, looking at the thick stand of bushes that clumped together. The rustling noise was coming from within them. A moment later, something crept out from beneath the leaves and through the ferns. A small creature, humanoid but barely two feet tall, slipped out, barely moving the leaves as it broke through them.
He—at least I thought it was a he—had a curved back, as though he were an old, aged man, but he was agile, and he was dressed all in tan and brown, with spindly legs and a burly chest. His hat was made from what looked like a giant acorn.
Instinctively, I gave him a deep bow. “Old man, we welcome your presence.” I had no clue how, but I spoke in Elvish, the words gliding off my tongue.
His eyes—a deep chocolate brown—glittered, and he chuckled. When he spoke, it was in English. “Young Elfling, thank you for the respect. Now, I have a request for you and your party. We—my people, the Wildlings—need your help. A foe has come to the forest recently, and we are not a match for it. Those who are, live far away deep in the Dark Woodland’s depths.”
I turned to the others. If we helped him, we might curry their favor—whoever the Wildlings were. I had no clue what theywere, but I sensed the forest around us respond to the old man, as though he was one of its children.
The others seemed to feel the same thing I did. I could see it in their faces.
“Would you give us a moment to confer?” I asked.
“Aye, I will.” The Wildling moved to the side, busying himself by plucking the dying leaves off one of the vines.
I turned. “If we do this, the forest will aid us. I don’t know how I know that, but?—”
“Even I can feel it,” Ray said. “And I’m generally headblind about these things. I say we help out. The game won’t throw anything at us that we’re not ready for.”
“I don’t know about that—the game’s broken, remember. This might be over our heads,” Brynn said.
“I agree, but I also think currying as much favor with the forest as we can is a good idea.” I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Votes? I say yes.”
One by one, the others agreed. We turned back to the Wildling.
