Authors: Stephen Zimmer
He was also aware of the fact that Ayenwatha and his tribal people were going to great lengths to care for the small band of outsiders. The tribal people were under a tremendous burden, and still they strove to protect and guide Logan and his companions.
Yet ultimately, despite the various bonds, Logan felt quite powerless and alone. It was a weighty and forlorn emotion that threatened to douse the fires of his spirit, rendering him dead to the world. Even so, the same fires within him could not be so easily soaked, and he burned fiercely to find some possible way to seize a degree of control over the course of things.
He chanced a glance back towards Ayenwatha. The tribal leader was focused on his paddling efforts, and paid Logan no heed. The noble warrior’s muscle and sinew worked in a flowing harmony, a striking example of symmetry and motion. Each instant, the tribal warrior looked like a skilled artist’s sculpture, as he worked the oar with a strong posture rife with rippling striations of musculature.
Logan knew that Ayenwatha was one of the most respected and greatest warriors of his village and tribe. He was a living example of the highest values that the tribe embraced, a man disciplined in the ways of nature and of the spirit.
Even so, Ayenwatha still had been set to desperate flight, along with all of his people.
Logan turned his eyes back to the front. A determination gripped him, as he promised himself that one day he would find his way into a position where he could not easily be put to flight, or made helpless.
One day, he would make his own determinations, and not be vulnerable to the reasonless, fickle whims of fate.
*
Lee
*
Gunther’s mood was severe, his face and hair caked with sweat as he bustled through the doorway into his woodland home. Lynn and Erin had watched him striding briskly towards the building, from a small window opening on the upper level. They had been alerted to his impending presence by a sudden restlessness among the Jaghuns.
Hearing the comments of the two women as they saw Gunther emerge from the forest depths, Lee and Ryan had hurried down the stairs to await the woodsman’s entrance. Lee felt impatient and on edge as he waited for the door to open, and the information that he anxiously sought to be delivered.
It was difficult enough for Gunther to move into the room, given that all of the Jaghuns crowded around and pressed their bodies together, close to the thick wood planks of the front door. Gunther barely responded to the greetings of the creatures, looking both distracted and pensive as he set his great bow down.
Lee could tell at once that something was very wrong.
Gunther looked towards Lee and Ryan, not even bothering to give them a greeting. He asked bluntly “Where are the other two?”
Lee pointed upstairs.
“The two of you up there, come down, now!” Gunther yelled upwards, before turning back towards the others.
He waited tensely until the two young women had come down the steps to join them. “No luck is with us. None whatsoever. The Avanorans are coming in force straight towards this dwelling. Far too many to even think about a fight. It is certain that they will find this place, and I am not so naïve as to think that they will respect a man’s dwelling. We must go!”
“How far away are they?” Erin asked.
Erin, like the others, presented anything but a calm façade. Wide-eyed panic was written all over her face as she looked to Gunther.
Lee’s greatest anxieties were spawned by the deep worry etched across Gunther’s face. In the short time that he had known the stalwart woodsman, there were some clear traits that rose prominently to the surface.
Gunther was not the sort of man to openly exhibit consternation, unless there was truly a very daunting reason. The entire patrol of the bestial warriors on the winged steeds had not rattled him in the slightest. He had been wholly unflappable in the aftermath of that conflict, except for the trauma at the loss of his Jaghun.
Lee knew without a doubt that fear did not come lightly to the tall, brawny woodsman. That alone, more than anything else, gave Lee the most cause to be afraid himself as he saw the agitation in Gunther.
“They are close enough. Unless you prefer to die gloriously and take a few of them with you, and hope that some gleeman sings of you one day, I would suggest that we all get moving now. As for myself, I am not seeking glory in a senseless fight, so I am leaving now. You may stay if you like, though,” Gunther replied tersely.
The man was not in the mood for any edgy banter with Erin, preempting any rude responses that she might have had on her lips. For her part, Erin made no caustic reply, keeping her mouth shut.
Gunther moved swiftly, gathering up a couple of leather packs, and opening a pair of wooden chests on the ground. He rummaged through the chests quickly, withdrawing some items of clothing and other incidentals that he packed into the hide pouches.
Lee and the others were sternly exhorted by Gunther to get their weapons along with any other things that they wished to take with them. There was not much in that regard, as Lee and the others did not have so much as a change of clothes.
Packs filled, Gunther strode over to the back of the room, heading towards the barred door, brushing roughly by Ryan in the process. Ryan was almost knocked off his feet by the brusque impact.
Lee knew that the contact was not intentional, simply a result of Gunther’s mind being far away from the woodland abode. Gunther paused to glance back towards Ryan, as if in afterthought, and apparently recognized the confusion upon the younger man’s face.
“There is no time. We must go without delay,” he said more gently, as he lifted the wooden plank from the great door and swung it open.
What little light existed in the outer room was immediately sucked up, swallowed by the impenetrable blackness on the other side of the door. Lee reflexively shivered as a strong draft of cold air rushed out.
The cooler air had a clean moistness to it, emerging from the interior of the cave-like atmosphere. Only a tiny speck of dim light in the far depths of the blackness signified anything that he could orient upon with his eyes.
The four awaited Gunther hesitantly, looking between the entrance and the woodsman.
“The door is open for you to go through, now!” Gunther barked at them with urgency. “Walk slowly towards the light, the ground underfoot is even enough. You can feel your way along the sides if you wish, but keep your balance.”
Lee started through the doorway first, giving some confidence to the others as they followed behind him. He noticed that the ground within the doorway was at a somewhat steep, downward slant, which headed straight towards the distant light.
Putting his hands out, he discovered that they were in a narrow passage, as his hands found the rough-hewn rock on the sides. Methodically, he took his first steps forward, careful to maintain his footing. The surfacing beneath his feet, though not perfectly even, did not have any large projections or dips that threatened to make him stumble or fall.
After about twenty paces in the narrow corridor, his hands could no longer touch both sides at once. He could also sense the enlargement of space in the widening corridor, yawning open above and around them. He adjusted over to the side, to move forward along the wall to the right.
Within the surrounding blackness, he could hear the sounds of the Jaghuns padding up from behind. The creatures passed by Lee and the others in the darkness. Their presence in the passageway was undeniably reassuring to Lee, though it did not quench his sense of apprehension as they moved through the dark towards the unknown.
Lee heard the shutting of the wooden door behind them, followed by a sliding sound and a loud “pop,” undoubtedly a wood plank being shoved into place from the inside.
It came as no surprise to Lee that Gunther had taken both sides of the door into consideration when he had built his dwelling. Heavy, swift footsteps then echoed into the larger part of the passageway, as Gunther hurried down the corridor. Within moments, he drew up alongside Lee.
“The enemy will find my home, but there will be no easy path for them to take to come against us down here. Remember, we are calling upon friends in a time of need,” Gunther said to Lee, loud enough for the others to hear. He then spoke in an even louder voice to the quartet. “Now keep going towards that distant light.”
Gunther’s voice trailed off as he started forward, taking the lead. Lee and his three companions fixed their eyes upon the distant glow, still far ahead and below.
Moving slowly through the deep gloom, the rest of the descent seemed to take an eternity to complete. The light before them was a welcoming beacon, reassuring and calling to them as they carefully passed through the engulfing darkness of the downward pathway.
Gradually, the speck of light grew to become a definable circle, which in turn became an oval-shaped portal that was easily big enough for the group to walk through.
The light gradually illuminated the ground and sides around them, though it revealed little other than rock. Of all the strange things that Lee had seen in his life within two worlds, what awaited the group at the end of the passageway was perhaps the strangest yet. He had expected something unusual, but found that he was completely unprepared for the sight that finally met his eyes.
The light was not generated from any sun or artificial means.
The luminescent glow came from broad, amorphous patches spread high up the sides of a huge rock cavern that the passageway opened into. The blue-hued light was quite ample, revealing what looked to be a rather bizarre type of forest that was spread out far and wide within the gargantuan cavern.
Even at first glance, and in the midst of his great awe, Lee saw that there was some type of order to the strange forest. It was as if it had been cultivated in a highly organized arrangement, with a specific purpose. Lee’s first impression was that it held the quality of a well-tended farm.
The forest was a mixture of soaring vertical growths, some varieties resembling giant mushrooms, continuing on down to much shorter stalks that were barely taller than Lee. The footing underneath was very strange, covered by algae-like growths and spongy loam. Lee could see that it was the substance of the much thicker layers that served as the foundation for the greater forest. The amount of organic material that the towering stalks were rooted in was incredible to consider.
The bright, glowing patches on the walls, and the bathing bluish light that they cast, added considerably to the mystical beauty of the extraordinary place.
Lee had come to a complete halt just a few steps into the cavern. He looked about in wonder, nearly breathless as his eyes adjusted further to the glowing light. The overall effect of the place was simply magical, and unlike anything he had ever experienced.
“I don’t believe this,” Lynn remarked slowly, her eyes drinking in the astonishing sights all around them.
“Unbelievable,” Ryan said, craning his neck back to look up at the underbelly of one of the tall mushroom caps. Had the cap been upon the ground, all four of the companions could have stood within its circumference.
Lee hardly bothered to notice the Jaghuns grouping swiftly around them, in a protective manner. Just ahead, Gunther had come to a stop himself, though it was not out of awe for the sights around them. His eyes darted among the growths, as if searching for some sort of sign or presence.
Gunther slowly stepped back to where Lee was.
“What is it?” Lee asked him in a hushed tone.
“The Unguhur might wonder why I bring companions who can speak their language well … as they know that I possess only a modest number of their words. It is best not to give rise to suspicions where we are needing friends,” Gunther said, keeping his attention riveted upon their surroundings. “I will have to unveil everything about the four of you in time, including your amulets from the Wanderer.”
“Should we take ours off?” Lynn asked him, voicing the obvious question that came to Lee’s mind.
It took no great leap of logic to perceive that the Unguhur would be quite surprised to encounter four people that they had never met speaking their language without error, much more fluently than Gunther.
“They will know you are of another world no matter what you do. I may suggest that you keep your own words few at the beginning. But keep your amulets on you. At least it will help you understand what they say. We have little other choice,” Gunther replied evenly. He then paused, as if thinking further on the matter. “Then again, at first it may not be deemed wise to reveal that you can speak with them, and understand them. Sometimes it is wisest to hold some things back. It could even be an advantage. They may speak more openly if they do not know you can understand their words.”
Lee, Lynn, and the others nodded in understanding. Lee was relieved to know that they could retain the pendants. Once he had come to understand the nature of the amulet, he had regarded it as invaluable, if not indispensable. In a world where he knew not one of the languages spoken upon its surface, the amulet was a lifeline.
The group remained silent as Gunther continued to look out into the wondrous forest around them.
“As a friend I come,” Gunther called out loudly into the stillness around them.
His voice carried far and vibrantly, echoing within the enormous space of the cavern. His words brought Lee, Lynn, Ryan, and Erin closer towards him. Lee was taken out of his enraptured state, as he looked around to see who or what Gunther was speaking to. He found himself gripped by nervous anticipation, feeling the sense of expectency coming from the woodsman.
Movement drew Lee’s eyes, as a grayish shape could be seen moving amongst the growths, emerging from a deeper part of the fungus-forest and heading towards them. Several other large shapes issued from the midst of the forest growths just a few moments later.
Lee quickly realized the great size of the approaching beings, which became more apparent with each long stride that they took. Were it not for the relaxed nature of the Jaghuns and the calm disposition of Gunther, Lee and the others would likely have taken flight and run as hard as they could back towards the passage.