Their advancement was painfully slow due to having their flashlights off, but they finally reached the stump. Shy grabbed the geo cache container from the back of his pants, and hiding it against his forearm, he pretended to reach into the stump and brought his arm back out with the geo cache tube fully visible in his hand. The deception probably wasn't necessary in the darkness. Even if Gust was watching and had seen, it was too dark to pick up those types of details.
He looked at Daniel, who flipped on the flashlight and gave him the thumbs up sign. They shined the light on the papers inside the tube. They read:
Congrats on reaching your destination! Replace the container and return back to the Forest Cabins. Have Tad send word when you get there. There will be a more difficult test one week from tonight!
They were somewhat disappointed that their adventure had ended with so little excitement. However, they replaced the tube and gave each other a high-five. That is when the chaos began!
Four figures jumped from behind trees and grabbed for the boys roughly. Their faces were smeared with something black, but Shy instantly assumed they were the Cave boys. Two figures grabbed for each of them. Daniel pushed the one closest to him into the other, and yelled "RUN!"
Shy ran back toward the path. He felt a hand grab at his shoulder, but he shook it off and kept running. He heard yells moving off the other direction. Grunts came from right on his heels, and Shy’s panic pushed him onward. Reaching the path, he did not hesitate. He turned north and increased his speed on the open path. He could still hear two sets of footsteps pounding behind him. They were gaining! He considered jumping off the path, but knew he might lose his footing and maybe more if they caught him. Sweat began to pour down his face, and his heart was beating so hard that he felt it was going to explode!
Squinting ahead into the darkness he thought he saw a light bobbing up and down. It was up the path ahead of him, as far as he could tell. His mind raced as his feet did the same. Was it a troll? A will-o-wisp? He had no choice as the labored breathing behind him continued to get closer.
He was gaining on the light rapidly! It was now a short distance ahead. Then, it disappeared!
He felt hands swiping at his shirt from behind, but felt like he couldn’t go on. Just as he was about to dive off the path in a last ditch effort to escape, he saw a bright light flash behind him, and heard a painful yelp. There was a scuffle on the path behind him, and it felt like one of his pursuers had fallen. He could still hear one follower behind him, but it had fallen back. Now, with possible escape in sight, he pushed on.
Ahead he could see a path shoot off to the left. He quickly took that path, and almost tumbled as it angled downward with random steps. He could hear the rushing of the waterfall ahead. He must have taken the path down to the falls! He made his way forward by feeling for the steps with his feet, and tracing his path with his arm on the cliff wall that had appeared on his right side. He worried that he would be caught at this newly slowed pace, but somewhere deep inside, he reasoned that his pursuer would also have to slow down.
As the ground began to level, he tried to catch his breath in the mist filled roar of the waterfall that must be directly ahead. He had to find a place to hide and wait to see if he was still being followed. If not, he could begin to make his way back up to his cabins. There was a bend in the cliff, so he felt around. It wasn’t a cave really, but more of a cleft in the side of the cliff. Satisfied that he could hide there, he pressed himself up against the cliff and strained to hear signs of his pursuer. It was useless. The roar of the waterfall was too loud. He kept his eyes glued to the spot where his attacker would pass if he was still on Shy’s trail.
That is when he actually did hear something. Somehow, piercing through the roaring waterfall floated the haunting notes of what sounded like a violin. Shy spun around aggressively, still pumped up from being chased. He saw nothing, and the music slowly faded away. He decided his mind must be playing tricks on him. He nervously squinted and scanned the darkness of the cleft behind him one more time. Still, he saw nothing.
He slowly turned back, and then peeked up the path from his hiding spot. No hooded figure appeared. In fact, there was no movement anywhere up the path. He pulled his head back and leaned against the cliff, taking a long deep breath. He would give it a few minutes, and then head back up to the Forest cabins. His body started to relax a little, and his racing heart slowed.
Then, starting softly at first, music again overcame the roar of the waterfall. He spun a second time, as violin music drifted around him. The music felt sleepy and dreamy. Though he was scared, the music seemed to wrap him in comfort, and his body relaxed again despite himself. As he stared at the back wall of the cave, it began to shimmer and blur; much like the tree had shimmered to reveal the spiral staircase, earlier that day. Gust had called it Glamour. Was that what he was seeing now? As he stared harder, he felt like his vision pushed through a wall of bubble gum. Finally, the wall snapped and the Glamour image of the rock wall dissolved. There sat the strangest creature Shy had ever seen.
It was huge, and it sat on a tiny stool that looked as if it would collapse at any minute under the creature's immense weight. It wore a green jacket four sizes too small with golf ball sized gold buttons. The arms of the jacket were tight as could be, and the sleeves were too short. There was no possibility of the jacket closing, so it hung open over folds and folds of its fat belly.
He, for Shy could only assume it was a he based on the way he was dressed, had dark skin. It was almost black, and blended into the deep shadows behind him. He had lighter hair of an orange color and on it rested a top hat. The hat looked like those Shy had seen in pictures of the Pilgrims, only it was bright green. He held a violin that looked tiny in his huge hands.
He played as he looked at Shy.
Shy just stared for a while, listening to the music as it swept over him. Shy wasn’t sure when, but at some point the music stopped. Shy tried to shake the cobwebs from his brain, when the creature spoke.
"So, you can see through the Glamour, young one?" He asked in a smooth, deep, rumbling voice.
Shy shrugged.
"Do you know what I am?"
Shy began to shrug again, but suddenly the relaxed fog of his mind cleared slightly, and he realized that he did know. This was the fossegrimen! He was sure of it!
The creature must have read the recognition on Shy’s face, as he rolled into a booming, rollicking string of belly laughs. "Sure you know what I am. I see. I know."
Shy quickly thought about what Tad had told them of the fossegrimen: it loves and plays music, it welcomes treats, and something about riddles. Then he remembered the snack bar they had been given by Gust. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. It was only partly crushed, so he opened the package and offered it to the fairy creature.
"Oh, ho? What’s this? The boy has brought a gift. Human edibles? Hhhhhmmph!" He grunted loudly as he raised his bulk from the chair…. Shy was pretty sure that he passed gas at the same time!
The fossegrimen waddled toward Shy, who extended his hand a little farther, so that the creature wouldn’t get too close. Upon grasping the bar, he brought it to his mouth so quickly and shoved it in, that Shy backed off in fear.
"No need, no need," He spit crumbs as he reassured Shy that he was not out to hurt him. "This one thanks you for the delicious morsels, he does. Now, what would you have in return?" He asked as he waddled back to his rickety stool.
"Ummm, nothing." Shy answered, speaking for the first time in the encounter.
The fossegrimen stiffened and halted. "Nothing, young one?"
Shy remembered Tad warning them that the fairy creatures could take offense easily. He quickly changed his request. "Ummm, music?"
The fossegrimen seemed to relax, and continued forward to take its seat. A violin appeared from nowhere, and he spoke, "I can certainly meet that request with a jolly heart and a full belly!" He began to play. Again the music seemed to be a force tha
t surrounded him and relaxed him. He chose to sit with his back against the wall of the cliff. He was tired, exhausted really, and soon closed his eyes.
***
"Shy…. Wake up son…." The fossegrimen was shaking Shy awake. He swam through the murky world of dreams to open his eyes. It wasn’t the fossegrimen…. It was Gust, shaking him. He stopped when he saw Shy’s eyes open. Shy looked around wildly for a minute, confused.
"What happened?" Shy exclaimed.
"Well… I think you are in more of a position to answer that than I am." Gust said while stroking his long white mustache. He had a slight upward turn to his lips, and Shy felt like Gust found his confusion humorous. "You may, or may not have been chased last night, " Gust continued.
Suddenly, it all came flooding back…. the geo caching….. getting chased by the hooded enemies…. the waterfall, and……. the fossegrimen.
Shy jumped up and wildly looked about for the huge fairy creature.
"Whoaaa…." Gust tried to calm him like a horse. "Easy now…. It's just me here."
Another thought struck Shy and he immediately blurted out, "Where is Daniel? Is he ok?"
"He is fine. He outran those who were chasing him, and circled back to the Lodge. He found Clancy and myself, and was worried about you. He told us everything… the bullying, the wasp’s nest," Gust smiled at the latter, and continued, "everything. You must have escaped and fallen asleep out here. I have been looking for you for half the night."
"What time is it?"
"It’s nearly three in the morning!" Gust barked a laugh. "Never thought I would find you snoozin’ away under the stars!"
"I….. I saw him, or it" Shy stuttered.
"What would that be boy?"
"The fossegrimen."
Gust quickly became serious. "You mean you dreamed about it?"
"No, I saw it…. uuhhhh… him. I spoke with him. He played music for me, and I must've fell asleep."
Gust put one hand on each of Shy’s shoulders, and looked seriously into his eyes. "You mean to tell me that you actually saw the fossegrimen?! You heard its music? What did he look like? What kind of music did he play? Did he ask you a riddle?"
Shy felt overwhelmed by Gust’s sudden seriousness and the onslaught of questions. "I… I dunno…." Was all he could stammer out. Shy squirmed out from under Gust’s grip, and moved away.
Gust must have realized the intensity with which he had just questioned Shy, because he said, "I am sorry Shy. I didn’t mean to scare you, but this is big news….. Let’s bring you back to the Lodge and you can tell us the whole story. He made like he was going to pick Shy up to carry him.
"I can walk," Shy protested.
"Of course you can," Gust smiled, with a small bow and proceeded to lead Shy from his hiding place."
Chapter Eight:
"I can see through the Glamour sometimes"
When they arrived back at the lodge, the sky to the east was just starting to turn a lighter shade of gray. It would not be too long before the sun would come up. As Gust marched Shy into the dining hall of the Lodge, and sat him down, Clancy and Tad stood from where they had been waiting. Tad gave him a squeeze on the shoulder, and Clancy sat down across from him, waiting expectantly.
Tad started first, though, by asking Shy if he was hungry. Shy thought about it, realized he was, and nodded. Tad immediately stepped through the swinging saloon doors that led to the kitchen, and began to whip up some breakfast.
"Well, boy, tell Clancy yer tale before the food is ready. God knows I don't want you talking while you are stuffin' your face, " Gust smiled as he talked.
"Shy, can you please tell us what happened?" Clancy refocused the conversation.
Shy nodded. He proceeded to tell them the whole story, from springing the trap set by the Cave cabin boys to the fossegrimen. When he described the creature they all seemed to listen a little more intently, as this was information they had not heard from Daniel.
With perfect timing, Tad emerged from the kitchen. The smell and sounds of sizzling bacon reached Shy, and his stomach gave a huge rumble. Tad set a plate of pancakes and some hashbrowns down in front of Shy. Tad was even twirling the small jar of hot sauce that Shy had taken to putting on his eggs.
"Where is Daniel?" Shy mumbled as he folded up a pancake, dipped it in syrup, and stuffed it into his mouth. He couldn’t believe how hungry he was.
Tad answered. "He’s back in his hammock in the Eagle cabin. All the boys were worried about you guys. I had to wait for Daniel to tell his story twice, before I could convince them all to get to bed… and that Gust would find you. They didn’t want to go to sleep until you were back. I suspect that some of them are awake right now…."
When Shy was done, Clancy had made her decisions and was standing him up and laying down instructions to Tad that he was to go right to bed, no visitors until after he slept. Shy grabbed for the glass of juice as Tad was hustling him away, spilling it over his hands as he gulped it down.
"Wait!" Shy remembered something. "What was that light I saw when I was running last night? I feel like it led me in the direction it wanted me to go, and then, somehow, it helped me. I think it knocked whoever was chasing me down!"
Gust stepped forward.
"Shy, there is really no way to know exactly what happened, and unless the boys that were chasing you admit to it, we will probably never know. I told you earlier that it really seems like you either have a gift, or are of interest to the magical forces in this forest. It seems like one of them decided to help you. Watch out, though, the Fey are not known to be generous without a price. They may want something in return for helping you. Stick close to the others Shy, don't go anywhere by yourself for now, OK?"
Shy nodded, and Tad grabbed his shoulders and again began to hustle him out the door. Shy thought he noticed Tad glance back and nod, as if to say he, also, understood.
They walked up the path toward the forest cabins, the sunrise sending a shaft of twinkling sunlight through the pines. The air was crisp and cool. For a while, they were both quiet as they walked. Then Tad turned to Shy and said, "Well, I guess we have a lot more in common now that you have had a big-time incident with a magical creature." Shy just kicked a stone down the path, and it hit a bump and leapt into the bushes beside the path. "Maybe you are just lucky, or unlucky, depending on how you look at it, or, maybe they are just drawn to you for some reason. It’s surprising that you are able to see them so well," Tad continued.
"I can see through the Glamour sometimes," Shy finally spoke up.
Tad looked over at him sharply and raised his eyebrows quizzically.
"Well, when I told you about seeing the fossegrimen, I didn’t tell you that he was hidden at first, but something just made me stare at the cliff wall, it shimmered and kind of disappeared, and there he was," Shy explained. "The same thing happened earlier today when I found the spiral staircase with Gust. He knew it was there, but he tested me, and I was able to see through the Glamour… that is what he called it, the Glamour."
By this time Tad had stopped walking. "What spiral staircase?" He asked jealously.
"I can take you there," Shy said pointing off in the general direction that he had walked with Gust the previous morning.
Tad, after a long pause, said, "Lead on, Shy. But after you show me this we are heading right up to the Raven Cabin and get you into bed."
Shy shrugged indifferently and led Tad off in a more northeasterly direction. When they arrived at the huge pine that Shy knew to be a spiral staircase, he stopped. He turned to Tad and pointed at the tree.
"So you are telling me that you can see a staircase where that tree is?"
"If I stare hard enough," Shy answered, "or, if I touch it, it shimmers, and then I can easily see the staircase."
"Do it."
Shy shrugged again, and walked up to the tree and stuck his hand into it. To his eyes, it shimmered, and he could see a spiral stair rising up into the trees.
"Wow! That do
esn’t hurt you?" Tad asked in disbelief, as he walked closer. "Can you climb the stairs?"
"Sure," Shy grasped the railing and climbed several steps upward.
"Shy! SHY! Can you hear me!" Tad yelled.
"Yes… I can hear you. I am right here. You don’t need to yell." Shy could see Tad begin to panic.
"SHY!"
With that last yell, Shy watched as Tad reached his hand into the tree. Taking a deep breath, and closing his eyes, he then quickly jabbed his head into the image of the tree. He slowly opened his eyes. Without moving his head, he looked around. Then he relaxed and stepped the rest of the way onto the staircase.
"You could have answered me," He said with a playful shove at Shy.
"I did… I almost yelled back at you! You couldn’t hear me?"
Again Tad arched his eyebrows in surprise. "Hmmmm…. The Glamour must lock sound inside. Good to know. Let’s test it. Look around and make sure no one is nearby. OK? Then step outside, and I will yell to you."
Shy stepped back out into the forest. He turned and looked at the tree. He waited, but heard no sounds besides the insistent screeching of a blue jay, high in the trees. When he saw Tad’s arm protrude from the tree it surprised Shy, but when it motioned him in, he hopped back in through the Glamour.
Tad was smiling at him. "You didn’t hear me I assume?"
Shy shook his head.
"Well, should we see where this comes out?" Tad pointed up the staircase.
Shy smiled knowingly and nodded, and began to race upward. Tad was hot on his heels. The spiral got tighter, and the stairs got steeper, and finally they came to the platform outside the Hive. As Shy had done on his first trip up the staircase, the two looked all around, and then quickly stepped out onto the platform. Tad looked back at the tree and marveled. Shy could see the look of wonder as he now looked around wondering what other Glamour they had not discovered.
"Huh. I never would have guessed. It’s funny that no one has ever found that by accident. Maybe they have… maybe they just keep it a secret! I wonder how many people have known about this over the years?" He looked down at Shy and said, "do we agree to keep this between us? For now anyway?"
The Fossegrimen Folly Page 11
