Authors: Alaina Stanford
Jack gazed into her eyes as he brushed a strand of ebony hair from her cheek and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere.”
Hopper gently separated himself from the slumbering sorceress he'd held throughout
.
the night
.
Smiling down at her, he rose and grimaced as his long spine snapped and crackled. Glancing around for Nicole and Jack, he found a pile of large red and purple berries on their food satchel near the cold
embers
of their
fire. Snatching a handful he kissed Sarah gently on the forehead and growled softly in her ear
.
"There's mischief afoot, Sorceress. I do believe
a
band of crazed fairies set upon us whilst we slept."
Her eyes popped open, startled by his words and the deep tone of his voice. "Fairies?
"
She gasped, sitting up, confused.
"Fruit fairies to be exact.
"
His deep voice answered.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nicole and Jack gathered some berries for us." His large crooked smile met her eyes. He opened her hand and filled it with the smooth round berries, popping several in his mouth. “They're sweet and juicy."
Following his lead, she tried the colorful fruit , surprised at her appetite
.
"Where are our two protectors?” She asked, jumping up to help herself to more.
“Beats me.
They'll
turn up. Let's find some place to wash up." Hopper responded.
"Good idea and the horses could use some water." Sarah said as she grabbed another handful of the berries and headed for their mounts.
Hopper led the horse into the trees following after Sarah
.
At the bottom of a small rise
they
found Jack leaning against a hollow log, half dressed and sound asleep. Todd cleared his throat loudly and nudged Jack in the side with his foot.
"I was wrong about the fairies, Sarah. It looks like our benefactors were more of the nymph variety." Hopper said with a grin.
Startled by their presence, Jack sat up quickly and glanced around for Nicole. Finding no sign of her, he stared up at his smiling companions. "I was . .
.uh
. . . the fire was too hot.”
"Oh yeah, that's a common phenomenon in the forest at night." Hopper explained seriously with a wink at Sarah.
Taking the horses downstream Hopper released them and waded into the rushing water to splash his face. Sarah sat at the edge of the brook, next to Jack and scooped up a handful to do the same.
"Whoa!" She gasped, releasing the icy water. Shaking the residue from her hands
,,
she dabbed lightly at her face with what little moisture remained. A shrill whistle came from behind them. Nicole's speckled stallion turned and trotted up the slope followed closely by the other horses.
"Jane of the jungle, no doubt.
"
Jack muttered, pulling on his boots.
The trio arrived at the
camp site
to find Nicole stuffing their food satchel with a variety of roots and nuts. She motioned for them to hurry, then
quickly threw one blanket after another onto the horse's backs. Tossing Hopper his club as he neared, Nicole nodded toward the east. "The warriors are moving in this direction. We're about an hour ahead of them.”
Hopper quickly saddled the horses as the others gathered up their belongings and scattered the remains of the fire. Sarah pulled her book of incantations out of her saddlebag and tied it onto her saddle horn. A
few minutes later the small group was heading deeper into the mountains
.
They moved up toward the crest of the nearest rise hoping to find a trail that would take them across the ridge and into the valley beyond.
By
midday
they were heading down into the valley below with no sign
of
pursuit
.
The bright sun that warmed them despite the cool mountain air disappeared suddenly into
thick
gray
clouds.
A
thick layer of fog crept across the forest floor and down into the glen below. The
dim light and thick fog increased the difficulty of locating the fortress
.
There were no roads or even small a dirt path to assist them.
Only an unnatural silence.
Not a sound came from the forest around them. No animal calls or
bird song
. Not even the flutter of wings or the buzz of insects
could be heard
.
They descended into the dark glen and the wind disappeared, the ominous silence that followed caused the adventurer to slow their pace. Even the footsteps of their horses were swallowed by the soft
moist ground and the dark spreading mist
.
The beautiful silver trees became gnarled and twisted, their gleam turning to a tarnished
gray
.
The underbrush became thick and unyielding they had to retrace their steps several times in the growing bleakness. Their moods darkened with the sky. No one spoke. Hopper urged his horse closer to Sarah's as they reached the base of the forest valley.
"Look there," Sarah pointed to a tiny shack that had fallen into decay
.
“Could that be it?"
Moving toward it, they dismounted a few yards away and stood staring at the decrepit ruin. It was little more than a storage shed. It had only one door, no windows and a roof of rotten wooden slats.
Jack shook his head, “This can't be it. Dr. Strong described it
a
stronghold."
"And it stinks!
"
Hopper added, wrinkling his nose at the overwhelming stench that flowed from the shack.
"This is it." Nicole said moving forward. "I can feel the magic."
"All I feel is nausea." Hopper grumbled, backing away. "It smells like something died in there."
“Something probably did.” Sarah added, quietly. "But I feel something too.
A glimmer of warmth, like I felt when I cast those spells.”
"We'll never know unless we take a look inside." Nicole said declared reaching for the broken door that hung precariously from a rusty hinge.
Jack stepped in front of her
, “
I
should go first."
“All right, barbarian,
” Nicole
smiled wickedly and stepped aside.
Staring into her eyes, Jack was startled to find they were glowing. "Are you alright?" He asked, reaching for her.
"Fine.
"
She answered, brushing his hand aside.
The instant she touched him the night before came, rushing into his mind. The scent of her, the softness of her skin
.
The sensations of making love by the edge of the brook sent him staggering
backward as he fought to maintain control. Her touch had lasted but an instant and Nicole gave no indication, no acknowledgment of the encounter.
Nicole stared at him, waiting. Forcing himself to concentrate on the task at hand, Jack pushed the thoughts from his head, yanked open the half hinged door and stepped inside
.
Darkness and the stench of death greeted him. Jack turned with a devilish smile and motioned for the others to follow. Nicole pulled her short sword free and entered. Sarah opened her book of magic, grabbed Hopper by the front of his fur vest and pulled him in behind her.
"There's nothing in here," Hopper growled in the darkness.
"How can you tell?
"
Jack said, unable to see any of them once they cleared the outline of the door.
"I'm a troll? I can see in the dark," Hopper explained impatiently, snatching a torch from the debris of what appeared to be a rotted table and chairs scattered throughout the small shack
.
He raised it out in front of him and said, "Sarah, I ' m holding a torch, can you light it?"
Turning toward the sound of his voice, she began to chant the spell Nicole had taught her. The torch flared and glowed with a bright purple
light
as did two others on the far wall. The two small tar soaked torches stood on either side of a small doorway that
wasn't
quite tall enough for Nicole to pass through without ducking.
Pulling on the door, Nicole shook her head and glanced around the room. "It's locked and there’s no
keyhole
."
Each in turn looked to Sarah to provide the answer. She shrugged coming toward them.
"
Why don't you try
knocking.
”
Nicole ignored her and dug through the debris around them pieces of furniture flying around as Hopper joined in. “There must be a lock mechanism in here
somewhere,
we just have to find it."
They searched the tiny shack to no avail. It consisted of four walls of thinly sliced wood and a dirt floor that gave no indication of a secret door or the source of the incredible stench.
"This is crazy!
"
Jack snarled,
heading for
the door. “
We're
in the wrong place. There's nothing here!"
"No!" Nicole insisted. "This is the place.” She turned to Hopper, "You've got the key
, Hopper
. Use it."
Staring down at her, Hopper shook his head confused. Then in one swift movement he smiled and charged at the door, throwing his full weight against it
. Surprised by the frailty of the rotting wood, Hopper sailed through it and rolled down a flight of winding stone steps to land on the stone floor beyond.
“Todd?" Sarah started forward, "Are you alright?"
"This is it!
"
He called up brushing the dirt and
grime
from his hairy limbs “It has to be, there’s a long hallway down here. It looks like it goes on forever."
The two elves stared into the glowing orb as it died when the adventurers disappeared into the bowels of evil.
The elder gently wrapped the sight giving treasure in a dark velvet cloth and placed it in a small silver chest on a high shelf.
"The counter spell was effective, but it hasn't hindered their progress.” He said,
"If anything, it has aided them." The younger replied, sitting down at the long stone table they had gathered around. The large sword he pulled from his belt slammed into the table echoing his frustration.
The darkness of the chamber swallowed the echo quickly. The small candle in the center of the table gave little light to the elves as they discussed their newest threat. The barbarian did not change, but is the most affected." The elder frowned,
stroking
his long thin white beard.
“And the elf is a Woodland.
"
The younger cautioned. "That was not expected. It is a great concern. They could succeed. "
"No, the troll will turn. His true nature will soon surface.” The younger pushed back from the table picking up his sword
as
he rose. "They will not reach the cave
. "
"There is much you do not understand." The elder called after the tall dark warrior as he disappeared into the shadows.
The hallway seemed to stretch on forever. The further the adventurers traveled into the tunnels the more uncertain they became. Before them was only darkness. The only sound they
could
distinguish was that of their own controlled breathing. The stench did not elude
them,
instead it grew in strength, nearly choking them with its potency. The walls of the tunnel
were built
of large stone block, never changing.
Only giving way to
another
long corridor to the left or right with no promise of discoveries or escape.
Jack grabbed Nicole’s arm holding her from another long tunnel. “
We're
lost.”
"No, we're headed in the right direction." She insisted.
"Nothing is in here, except the stench we're swimming in." Jack growled, glancing past her.
"We can't just stand here in the dark.” Nicole snapped, jerking her arm away and turning to continue.
"We've been walking for miles." Sarah said, "I'm taking a break." She sat cross legged on the dark stone floor and leaned back against the wall
.
Hopper joined her, producing a small pouch of their breakfast berries. Jack sat across from them, extended his hand and looked up at Nicole. "Sit down.
A
few minutes delay won't take the edge of the adventure, I promi
se.”