The Fossegrimen Folly

by Michael Almich

  After a short while, Shy heard voices. He couldn’t be close to the Hive yet, so he stopped and looked around. Above him and off to the east he could just make out the scampering figures of what must be Finn and Sawyer silhouetted in the sun. They were swinging between two pines on long ropes, laughing and whooping it up. Shy yelled an indistinct greeting to them, and they motioned him up. Since there was no direct connecting walkway, and since they were higher in the trees than him, it took about five minutes of running to reach them.

  "This swing is the best," Sawyer yelled as he jumped from the platform and swung to the other side.

  When he reached the other side, he turned and swung the heavy rope back over to Finn and Shy. Finn grabbed the rope, and held it out for Shy to try it.

  "Tad wake you guys already?" Shy asked while taking the rope from Finn.

  "No, that invisible thing woke us. What’s its name? Tom T? Yeah, that’s it."

  "He did?" Shy couldn’t hide his surprise. "How did he wake you?"

  "Hurry up!" Sawyer yelled, feeling left out of the conversation.

  "Well, we threw our clothes on the floor last night. So, this morning, we woke up to our clothes tied into knots and being thrown at us!"

  "Really?" Shy thought back to how he had left his clothes laying in a pile on the floor. "What are we supposed to do with them?"

  "Well, we found a sign sitting on top of a wooden box, written like a kindergartner would write, that said ‘LAWN-DREE.’ So we put it in there."

  Shy was quiet, thinking he would need to look for his laundry spot, until Sawyer's screech broke the stillness.

  "Come ON!"

  Shy got a better grip on the thick, rough rope with his hands, and wound the lower part around his calf and then pinched it between his feet like his gym teacher had shown him. He stepped one step backward, then forward again and jumped! He cut through the air like a bird, swooping to the other side. Just as he slowed and began to swing backward, he put his feet down on the platform and stood up. Just then they heard a distant yell, and hoot like an owl. It was Tad calling for them to follow.

  "Hoo hoooo… hoo hoooo. Catch up, you three… Breakfast awaits!"

  Sawyer grabbed the rope and swung back to Finn. Reaching the other side, he turned, and swung the rope back to Shy. Shy flew back across and ran to catch up to the other two. It didn’t seem to matter which way they went, there was so many different routes that would work. Soon all three had jumped into the Hive, and moved over to the zip line. Tad was waiting for them.

  "Let’s go you pokes! Everyone else is down!"

  One by one they zipped down to the small clearing that served as a landing strip. The trip was as fun and scary as the first time because they could see how high they really were, especially when they zipped across a deep ravine. The sun was out and seemed to shine in the brilliant blue sky with an intensity Shy had never noticed. It was almost as if Mother Nature wanted to tell Shy what a great day she had in store for him.

  They arrived at the back of the lodge and entered. Shy took a good look around. The dining room was to the left, but off to the right he saw another large room, one that he had not seen last night. A large TV, a ping-pong table, a foosball table, and two pool tables filled the room. Turning back to the dining room as they entered single file, Shy counted six total tables. It looked like one for each set of cabins, one for the counselors and staff, and one for food. The actual kitchen was through a doorway, behind the tables.

  He saw the old man Gust sitting at the head table, with a cup of coffee, visiting with the woman that had taken Crutch away when he tripped into the mud. The loud, bossy woman had her hair up in a bun again, which just added to her stern appearance. The other three counselors sat at the other end of the table, and waved Tad over. He left the front of their lineup and walked over to the head table.

  Shy and his fellow campers veered left toward their table, and Shy tried to catch Claire's eye. Out of the blue, Shy was shoved violently from behind. He tumbled into Ralph ahead of him and they both spilled to the ground.

  "Hey!" Sawyer yelled in protest from behind.

  Shy turned and saw Crutch McFarlane standing there, gloating. Two other boys were with him. One was the weasel faced Claudius from back home. He went by Claude for short, and Shy had heard other kids call him Clod because he was so clumsy, but they never said it to his face. When Crutch was your friend, no one bothered you. Ever.

  "Shut up, and mind your own!" Claude turned to Sawyer, and shoved him.

  By this time Shy’s whole cabin had turned in line to look. In fact, other tables were standing and craning their necks to see what the commotion was all about. Shy was incredibly embarrassed. He had forgotten about Crutch with all the other excitement and wonder he had seen in the last day. As he got up, he helped Ralph up too.

  To Shy's surprise, Daniel and Sampson had pushed back to where the commotion was taking place.

  "Just like a couple of bowling pins" Crutch sneered.

  "Back off," Daniel said to the larger boy.

  "Be careful who you pick as friends," Crutch said as he pushed Daniel, turned and walked over to the Cave table.

  Shy told Daniel thanks and still embarrassed, glanced up to the head table. He made eye contact with Gust, but no one else seemed to have noticed.

  They again set off for their Forest table. As they approached, Shy noted that everyone’s names had been carved where they sat yesterday. Some of the boys were just now noticing the carvings.

  The smell of frying bacon and maple syrup filled the dining hall. Daniel, Sam, and Sawyer came over to Shy.

  "What was that all about? Why did he push you?" Daniel asked Shy.

  "He goes to my school, and doesn’t like me."

  "He’s a butt," Sawyer stated matter-of-factly. "We’ll get him back. I got an idea," He said while looking up the aisle at Crutch.

  "That’s OK, it's no big deal," Shy said.

  "Nope… I got this," Sawyer responded.

  Daniel and Sam smiled, soon Shy joined in.

  Gust interrupted their revelry by choosing their table to head up to the breakfast line. The food looked and smelled great. The boys all loaded their plates, except Sawyer. All he asked for was runny eggs. Shy assumed he meant over-easy, that is how Shy’s dad always ate his eggs. They walked down the aisle back to the table, one after the other, or in pairs, with Sawyer bringing up the rear.

  Suddenly, a ruckus rose up behind them. First a yell, then laughter erupted from the nearby tables. Shy and the rest of the forest cabins turned to find Sawyer laying on the ground, arm extended in front of him, with his plate empty. The runny, yellow yolk had been skillfully flung onto the back of Crutch Macfarlane’s head, and Sawyer had made it look like a tripping accident! Crutch sat with his face getting redder by the second as yellow streamers of yolk ran down his neck.

  Before anyone could move, Gust was assisting Sawyer up and bringing him back to get a new plate. Sawyer sneaked a wink to Shy and his group, most of which snickered in response as they continued back to their table.

  Crutch was again whisked off by the bossy lady with her hair in a bun. He was fuming. Again, Shy had the funny feeling he would pay for the incident somewhere down the line. It did make Shy feel good, though. Other than Claire, no one had ever stood up for him like that. Especially to Crutch. As Shy passed the Lake Cabins’ table, on the way back to his own, Claire caught his eye. She motioned him over, then, as he hesitated, she got up and came to him.

  "What was that all about?" She demanded.

  "Dunno," Shy lied, as he looked past his friend. He could see the other girls from the Lake table looking over and whispering.

  She gave him the flat stare that said she knew he was lying.

  "Crutch pushed me down earlier, so Sawyer got him back."

  "That’s not right. You shouldn’t have let him do that."

  "What was I supposed to do? I didn’t tell Sawyer to do that… I barely even know Sawyer!" Shy began to whine.


  "It’s just not the right way to behave."

  Claire spun away and stalked back to her table. Shy wondered for the millionth time why she thought she was his mother. He saw her immediately and emphatically explaining the whole situation to the other girls at her table. They all flashed disapproving looks at Shy. All except one. A tall girl with blond curls made eye contact with Shy, and before he could be embarrassed and turn away, she smiled.

  The remainder of breakfast was rather uneventful, with the exception of Henry noticing his name carved in the table and pointing out that everyone else’s was too. There was some talk of punishments, and soon they all had their plates covering their names.

  Shy decided that the extra crispy bacon here at camp was the best he had ever had, and made a note to grab more the next day. They were all getting up to leave the table, when Shy remembered something, and looked down the length of the table. There… on the end, where Sam had been sitting, was an uneaten cinnamon roll! Shy nonchalantly walked over, wrapped it in a napkin, and tried to hide it at his side.

  "Good idea," Ralph said, as he waited for Shy to catch up.

  Outside they gathered in the clearing behind the lodge. All of the cabins were there, but they immediately separated into their cabin divisions. The counselors were in a group discussing the different personalities of campers that they each had in their cabins. Quickly, the bossy lady joined them, with Gust at her side. She held up a large megaphone.

  "OK, boys and girls, pay attention. Since I have not yet formally introduced myself, I am Mrs. Clancy, Mrs. C, or even just Clancy. I am the director of Camp Lac Igam, and have been for quite a while. I trust you all slept well last night," She paused expectantly, but received only a few nods in response. "Today we will begin your practices for the Camp Games which will take place your last two days of camp. The games consist of eight events, and each camper should participate in at least one. The winning cabin group will get a fabulous prize…" Again she paused expectantly, and again she received little response. "Ok, well….these games are something we have held annually since I took over this camp. I change the events each year, so if you come back next summer it will be something different. I find that campers really enjoy themselves. The games last two full days and your parents will be here to watch the second day! I would suggest you start practicing right away! The events are not necessarily your usual camp events! Your counselors have details, but in short, the eight events are: cross country run, obstacle course, long distance swim race, archery, night geo-caching, tree climbing, rock climbing, and rock skipping." May the best team win!"

  With that, she turned off the megaphone, and walked off toward the front of the lodge with Gust. Shy watched them walk away as the rest of the campers dispersed toward their counselors. Just before they turned the corner, Gust again looked right at Shy. It actually creeped Shy out a little. It seemed like he was constantly catching Gust’s eye. It was probably nothing, Shy decided after a minute. He shrugged and walked over to Tad and the others.

  "So, most of the cabins will have try-outs for their different events. I think we can come to an agreement, without holding try-outs. For that to work, though, you guys need to realize that we are a team, and we need to work together. Not everyone will get an event they want, but if we help each other train, we can all benefit. Think about it as we hike back to our cabins. I am going to show you the river gorge trail on our way back. Now, remember the things we spoke of last night?" Tad paused and waited for them all to nod, or answer. "The gorge that holds the river, and the waterfall, seem to be a hotbed of those kind of happenings. Be alert, be quiet, and pay attention to what is going on around you."

  Tad turned on his heels and was off. The boys fell in behind him, and they moved towards the east as a single file unit. Soon, the air became more humid, yet strangely cooler. It was an unnatural combination and left a clammy creepy feeling on one's skin.

  Shy could faintly hear what seemed like a roaring noise in the distance as they came to a rocky ledge over a steep cliff. Here the path turned right, uphill, and to the north. When Shy looked over the edge of the cliff, he could not see the bottom, only a foggy mist.

  "How far down does that go?" Henry piped up from behind Shy.

  All the boys now looked down.

  "A long ways, let’s just say that," Tad answered.

  Suddenly they heard eerie laughter or crying, rising up through the mist. It reminded Shy instantly of what he had heard when first crossing the rope bridge, when they first arrived at camp the previous day. Tad turned to listen.

  "What is that?" Henry spoke first

  Tad didn’t answer, but frowned at Finn as Finn answered the laughter with his best loon impression by placing his hands tightly together and blowing into them a certain way. He worked a portion of his fingers back and forth, resulting in an undulating warble. It sounded a little like a loon, but also similar to the cry they had just heard. Silence for a minute, then they heard the laughter again, but this time it sounded closer!

  "It sounds like it is coming toward us," Ralph quavered.

  "Come on, we have to get back to the cabins to start practicing our events," Tad said suddenly, but he sounded slightly nervous.

  He led them up the path to the north. It followed the cliff above the river gorge. The terrain was rocky, moist from the fog that rose up from the gorge, and increasingly peppered with scraggly pines grasping for life from the rugged terrain.

  As they hiked, Shy wondered what that laughter or crying noise had been. As they moved northward, they would hear it again occasionally, but it now lagged far in the distance. Every time they would hear the sound, Ralph, who had now positioned himself directly in front of Shy in line, would turn and look at Shy. The look was worried and inquisitive at the same time. The other boys did not seem to be worried, rather they were irritating Tad with their attempts to copy Finn’s loon call. Sawyer almost had it mastered, but Sam and Daniel were not catching on. The noises that they were making were horrible, and Shy could see Tad’s shoulder’s shrug, or clench up each time the boys tried.

  Shy could now hear the rushing sound of what must be the waterfall. It was not too long before it was so loud, he could no longer hear the attempted loon calls. Tad stopped the line, and motioned them all close.

  "We will walk out onto the waterfall overlook next, then head back to our cabins," Tad explained. "The roaring of the waterfall will be so loud, we will not be able to talk, or at least hear any talking, out on the overlook. So, take a quick peek, then, head back here. "

  He paused, and looked at all of them for a minute.

  "I probably shouldn’t tell you all this, so remember the rules, and especially never go off by yourself!" He paused until they had all nodded. "At the base of this waterfall is where they say the fossegrimen lives. It is a fairy creature that lives in and around waterfalls. It plays the fiddle, and if you bring it treats, legend says, it will teach you to play beautiful music. In most legends it is fairly harmless, happy to visit and play its music for humans, but there are a few stories that tell of a darker side. It is a creature with immense knowledge. A few legends claim that it is the guardian to the greatest treasure of the fairy world. They tell of humans approaching the fossegrimen with gifts, and then a request for knowledge rather than wanting to learn to play the fiddle. These humans are presented with a riddle. If they are able to answer correctly, the fossegrimen will be forced to show them the path to the treasure. If they do not solve the riddle, they must pass through the waterfall to whatever lies beyond…. Never to be seen from again."

  Again, Tad's story had captured all the boys’ attention, and they were enthralled. Tad clapped to break the spell, and led them onto the side path to the overlook. The path snuck between two pines and some dense, bushy undergrowth, and then opened up to a wide rocky expanse of a cliff. The boys inched up to the edge and looked over.

  The roar of the waterfall was almost unbearable here. Not far in front of them, the rive
r bubbled past huge boulders, and poured over the cliff edge, into the mist covered river gorge below. Shy was amazed at the power of the river and the waterfall, and wondered what it must be like at the bottom. As he lingered on the edge he thought he could hear some strands of music drifting up, just at the edges of his hearing. He knew that must be impossible over the roar of the waterfall. Nonetheless, as he stood there, another snippet of fiddle music reached him. He looked at the two boys lingering with him at the edge. They showed no recognition or signs of hearing it.

  As Shy strained to hear more, Tad grabbed the three of them from behind and pulled them back toward the main path.

  "I said take a quick peek," He scolded them when they arrived back on the path.

  "I… I thought I heard something…." Shy spoke up.

  "Heard what? Back there? What could you have heard with that waterfall noise?"

  "I thought I heard… music," Shy trailed off, very conscious now of the other boys eyes on him.

  Tad turned to the other two and pinned them with his eyes, "Did you two hear anything?"

  Both shook their heads side to side in response. Tad looked back at Shy. Something passed in that look, but Shy wasn’t sure what it meant.

  "We’ll talk later," Tad said while putting a hand on Shy’s shoulder. "Now, we need to get back to the cabins.

  One path continued northward along the river, uphill. A second split off toward the east and the forest. That is the way Tad led them. They wound thru the pines, and Shy wondered about the music. Had he really heard it?

  Soon they arrived back at the Sentinel. Instead of taking the Elevator up, Tad lead them onward, to a clearing between the pines. Shy stopped him, and with the counselor’s help, Shy sent his cinnamon roll upward on the Elevator. Tad smiled at him. Shy hoped that remembering a treat for Tom T scored him some points with the nisse and balanced out the fact that he left his clothes in a messy pile on the floor!