The cool stream water felt so refreshing that he couldn’t help but to stay in it a while longer. The burning had eased and the blackened areas of his flesh were merely pink patches. He drank the water as the long cool sips moistened his parched lips. He sighed and leaned back against a large mossy rock. The stream had given him a new energy that motivated him to continue along his quest. His thoughts were clear and crisp offering quick answers for his next move.
Along the path he found it difficult to know what to do but in the forest everything seemed easier, simpler. He knew at this moment that it was time to continue so that’s what he did. Climbing out of the water he shook out the water from his hair, he felt alive again even though he had left his shirt and jacket in the verity with his shoes and socks. He didn’t mind trekking through the woods bare footed, the soft undergrowth of the forest felt good on his tired feet and actually it was rather liberating.
There wasn’t any path here just trees and ground cover along the edge of the stream. He knew that if he kept the verity in sight he would be able to continue in the same direction. He figured that if he stayed close to the forest edge he could simply run into the verity when he needed to, in case there was trouble or something.
It was truly a stroke of genius. He took just a moment to bask in the brilliance of his new plan before heading onward. He walked with the verity to his left and the stream to his right and his future positioned firmly in front of him. As he walked through the ground cover and around trees he began feeling rather merry, he found himself jumping up to swat at the leaves in good fun. There was a pleasant feeling in being able to wonder without being restricted to that dusty, hard path.
His gate was steady and light allowing him to cover a lot of ground in much better time than he previously had. He could smell a sweet and lovely aroma and it filled him with a sense of cheerful bliss. The feeling washed over him leaving him to worry less about his destination and feeling like he might just stay here forever.
But from the corner of his eye he repeated saw the little glimmer in the verity. It was darting around and jumping up as if it was trying to get his attention, but Nathan refused to give his attention over to it. He knew that whatever it was, it would try to convince him to come out of the forest and he wasn’t about to do that. He had finally figured a way to remain in the comfort of the forest and still walk in the way of the verity.
He continued on his way passing large weathered trees and smaller new saplings. On more than one occasion he found however, mysterious flowers and plants in a variety of colors and shapes that did grab his attention. One flower however, at the base of a large oak like tree, where the moss grew thick did make him stop. It was a singularly remarkable flower. It’s pink and purple swirling pedals cupped around the bright orange stamen like fine china, delicate and perfect in every detail.
He reached down to pick it since he knew someone who would love to see such a flower, but then he paused. He thought he knew someone but… Who? He couldn’t recall who he was thinking of. The flower’s stem released small vines that slowly spread out in a net to capture the unsuspecting picker’s hand. The vines charged for their attack. Then Nathan stood up, he wasn’t aware of whom he would pick such an amazing flower for. Strangely he wasn’t aware of anything and that made him uncomfortable. He stepped away from the flower and continued on his way as the vines retracted, awaiting its next naive prey.
A sigh of relief and a simple cheer from the verity barely reached Nathan's ear when he turned and saw nothing but a tiny poof of dust rise up and vanish in the breeze. Bellow the poof, unknown to Nathan was a tiny creature not much bigger than a hamster. His fir was white as snow bursting out of every place that the armor did not restrain it. His tiny helmet overflowed with soft white fir hiding his tiny black eyes, but his fat cheeks and silly grin were more than obvious. He had tiny golden armor and a tiny silver sword about as long as a toothpick.
He lay on his back as if he had just about passed out from the enormity of the situation that had just occurred. His tiny chest pounded rapidly against his golden chest plate as he laid with his tiny arms spread wide. As he chuckled to himself in the dust, the pitter-patter of more tiny feet worked their way through the verity and stopped beside him looking down.
“Vigil, what in the world are you doing down there?” Squeaked the second tiny critter.
“Oh glory, I nearly had a heart attack,” he replied playfully clenching at his chest,” he got bit by the trumble-bids and ran to the forest…I almost stopped ‘um ya know, but he ran in the water and the bellow bloom nearly got ‘um then…
“Vigil slow down. Are you alright?”
“IT WAS AWSOME!” Vigil sat up, “Oh Lilly you should have seen it. The bellow bloom was just bout to grab him and…” Vigil scratched his tiny helmet, “actually I’m not sure what happened… but he got away.”
“Vigil, you have got to settle down.”
“I am settled.” He replied looking somewhat perturbed.
“Well come on then we need to catch up to him.”
Vigil got to his feet and took off at a sprint. “Follow me; I know where he’s going.”
“Vigil you come back here. Vigil!” Lilly squeaked at the top of her tiny lungs. She huffed in her disapproving manner and stomped after her fearless companion. Though vigil’s path was barely enough to be seen by full sized people it was more than obvious to a seasoned tracker like Lilly. She caught up to him in no time at all.
Vigil had climbed a stalk of verity and with one hand shading his eyes, he swayed back and forth like a pirate looking for land. He searched the forest just the way Lilly had taught him, first one scan over the area looking for the obvious, then focus at the center of the area and let his peripheral vision pick up any movements. This of course was a little more difficult when the platform you are viewing from won’t stop moving.
But he persevered, and through the shadowy camouflage of tree limbs and leaves he saw it. There behind a weeping lilac he saw a king berry bush rustle. He watched intently and it rustled again. Then he heard a sigh and belch.
Over behind the weeping lilac was in fact Nathan leaning against the tree’s stout trunk. The undeniable dark red stain across his mouth and hands of one who has gorged himself on the sweet and juicy king berry. He had been somewhat hungry but nowhere enough to justify eating to the extent that he had. But that is the lure of the King berry, they are so delicious that once you snack on just a few, you find yourself eating and eating until you can’t even lift your arms to pick one more.
These berries have been the downfall of many kings of many nations. Their enemies would offer them as a gift to be planted in the kingdom. Not knowing they were from an enemy, the kings would have them planted. Then at maturity they would produce thousands of tiny red berries of unmatched flavor, that once consumed, would expand in the stomach of the kings and all the soldiers that ate of the berries, rendering them worthless in battle due to the unbearable pain of their stomachs bursting.
Nathan had just begun to eat some more when he saw the shimmer of Vigil’s armor in the sunlight again. It was rather curious and although Nathan couldn’t recall where he was or where he was going he saw no harm in investigating it. He gathered a handful of the king berries and headed toward the tiny creature.
He stepped out from the lilac tree and the heavy violet blossoms released a slight fog of its pollen like fragrance. It smothered Nathan’s senses and made him hesitate. This particular lilac was at one time no different than any other lilac in the land until the winds blew a single seed into the forest. When it began to grow, it realized that there were no other trees like it and it became very sad. As it grew larger, it didn’t grow up as most lilacs will, this one rather began to droop and rather than its sweet aroma making visitors happy, its sadness infected its pollen causing those that smell it to become disorientated and to lose their desire go away in an effort to keep the sad little bush comp
any.
As he neared the edge of the forest an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and panic began to permeate every bone in his body. Within a few feet of the forest’s edge he turned and looked back at the weeping lilac. He felt the pain of the weeping tree and began weeping also. He longed for the sweet smell of its flowers and the berries that were beneath it. He looked into his hands and saw only one berry left. He ate the berry and took a step towards the lilac.
“WAIT!” Vigil yelled with all the might of a hundred tiny warriors. The sound wasn’t loud but it carried all the way to Nathan’s ear and he turned again looking for the sound. All he saw through his tear filled eyes was a tiny shimmering creature hanging on to a swaying blade of verity.
The poor creature must be lost or in pain he thought as Vigil waved and squeaked. I have to help the tiny creature, and he turned to the verity once more. He took one singular step and collapsed holding his stomach. The berries had begun to expand. Nathan reeled in pain on the forest floor. “Help me!” He cried reaching one hand towards Vigil.
Vigil slid down the stalk and landed with a ‘thud’ on the hard dirt. He ran to the edge of the forest and peered through the brush. Once he located Nathan again he started looking around for some way to help. Lilly stood by with a saddened look on her face, “Vigil, he’s gone. The forest has him now.”
“No,” the tiny warrior insisted, “We have to get him out of there.”
“Vigil, we can’t go in there, not even to help save someone.” She turned away knowing what torture was to come next.
Vigil kicked at the dirt and ran around looking for a solution when the flying warrior landed nearby and dismounted his winged horse. He ran to the forest edge careful not to step on Vigil and Lilly. Then he knelt down and placed his armor clad hand on the ground and said, “come little warriors, we must go. He is lost forever.” At that notice Vigil stopped running and slowly walked to the warrior’s hand. He helped Lilly up and then he climbed up also.
“Can’t you help him?” Vigil asked the warrior.
“Only as much as you can Vigil.” The warrior stood up and raised the two tiny creatures to his face. “You know I can only battle those in the verity, I cannot go in the forest, the same as you. He made his choice to enter the Forest of Bane and we have done all we can to guide him but now it’s over.”
“I wish there was a way.” Vigil said with a broken heart.
“Would you enter the forest now, knowing the truth just to save a fool?”
Vigil looked back at Nathan lying motionless on the forest floor. Then he saw Nathan raise his head and look directly at vigil.
Vigil looked at the warrior. “I would!” He cried jumping from the warriors hand and landing on the hilt of the mighty sword. In a blink he untied the sheath that held the sword and the two fell to the ground. Vigil grasped the sword with his tiny hands and ran to the forest before the warrior of Lilly realized what was happening. He reached the sword into the forest cutting anything in its way.
“Take the sword,” he squeaked, loud as before.
Nathan reached for the sword and as his hand touched the blade it did not cut him but instead the blade wrapped itself around his hand and vigil began to pull. He dug his tiny feet into the ground and with all he had pulled the sword and Nathan into the verity. The warrior reached down and took hold of the hilt of the sword and he also helped the tiny Vigil pull Nathan into the field.
Lilly came running to Nathan’s side and opened a tiny flask. Put only a drop or two into his mouth she yelled to the warrior who took the flask ever so gently. He dropped one drop, then another. Nathan began to gag and cough. The warrior sat him up and patted him on the back.
The warrior handed the flask back to Lilly, “What is this?”
Lilly smiled placing the flask on her belt again, “Why it’s Queen berry juice. It’s an antidote to the King berry poison. It doesn’t actually come from a queen berry, it’s just what we call it.”
In a few moments things calmed down and Nathan caught his breath. His head was pounding and his stomach ached. “Thank you,” he said looking at the rather motley crew that had just saved him. “What happened?”
“Give it a minute or so, it’ll come back to you.” The warrior said.
And as he said, it all came back to him in bits and pieces at first and then fitting together making him feel miserable and embarrassed. “I am so sorry.” He said with true sincerity.
Then Vigil came and sat beside Nathan, “Whatever possessed you to go into the forest?”
Nathan explained about the log and the bites. “I thought the father always give you a way through.” He said in painful retort. “Guess I wasn’t worthy of a way through.”
The warrior knelt down beside Nathan, “He sent me, and you sent me away.”
Nathan looked at him horrified, “but I thought…”
Lilly, still in the warriors other hand just laughed, “Don’t think, you aren’t any good at it.”
Nathan laughed and got to his feet but his heart sank when he realized that he was pulled back into the verity exactly where he went into the forest.
The warrior pointed at his horse “You still need to cross the gorge don’t you?”
Nathan picked up the clothes that he had stripped off. He put on his salmon shirt, dirty shoes and dusty jacket. One by one they all climbed on the warrior’s horse and in two leaps they were soaring over the gorge. The vast emptiness of the bottomless void, more evident than before, made Nathan’s heart sink. Lilly held fast to the great beast’s main as Vigil scurried up its long and powerful neck for a better view. The warrior laughed at the tenacity of the tiny creature.
Chapter 8
A Glimpse Of Tomorrow Page 8
