As Daniel came to end of his monologue, Shy again got the feeling of uneasiness in the pit of his stomach. It must have showed on his face.
"Are you OK?" Daniel looked worried.
"Yeah, I just got some kind of a stomach ache." Shy answered in between quick breaths.
Daniel was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Are you nervous… or scared? You know, for tonight I mean."
"Yep."
Daniel could see that it was difficult for Shy to talk while running, so he held his arm out and stopped them both.
"Let's just walk back to camp." He said.
Shy didn't need any convincing, and as they walked, he quickly recovered his breath.
"So, what are you nervous about?" Daniel asked.
"I dunno."
"Come on." Daniel prodded as he elbowed Shy in the side.
"What happens if we can't find it? The fossegrimen. Or, what if you guys can't see it? You're going to think I am weird."
"We already think you're weird." Daniel joked. "Really? We believe you Shy. If we didn't, why would we go looking for this? Think about all the weird stuff we have seen so far. Tom T, the zip line sylphon, the monster in Lac Igam, all the stories Tad has told us…. Even the writing that carved itself into our table in the lodge! Your story isn't any weirder than that stuff. Besides we're friends. That's what friends do, they believe in each other."
The words made Shy feel better, but something still didn't sit right in his stomach. What was bothering him? He pushed the feeling aside, and smiled for Daniel.
"Thanks. I guess I am excited to go back down there. The fossegrimen wasn't really scary, it was just kind of, well, dreamy. It kind of made you tired with its music. What do you think the treasure is?"
"Gold." Daniel answered. "I think that any treasure these creatures have has got to be old. It must be almost ancient, right? Well, gold has been around since ancient times. What if it is a pot-o-gold? At the end of a rainbow? Didn't you say this thing was dressed like a leprechaun? I bet that's it!"
"Well, I thought leprechaun's were small? This thing was huge and FAT!"
Both boys laughed as they walked back into the areas of the forest cabins.
"Hey," Daniel remembered, "didn't you say something about other hidden entrances that you had found?"
"Yeah, you want me to show you?" Shy responded excitedly.
"Ye- aa- ah" Daniel answered in a matter-of-fact tone that made Shy laugh.
Shy ran ahead to the area under the Hive. There he turned, and made sure Daniel was with him. He held up his hand, gesturing for Daniel to stop. Shy slowly stepped back to the big pine that held the hidden spiral staircase. He stepped inside, and watched the shock bloom on Daniel's face. Daniel ran forward quickly, ready to pound on the tree to find Shy. Before he got there, Shy stepped back out. Daniel pulled to a stop just before hitting him.
"This is the spiral staircase." Shy couldn't help but smile at the look on Daniel's face. "Wanna try?"
"Yeah, but does it hurt?" Daniel hesitated.
Shy thought this might be the first time he had ever seen Daniel scared.
"No, it doesn't hurt…. It's kind of just like a shadow. You don't feel anything, and you can see out of it, but not in."
Shy grabbed Daniel's shirt and pulled him in. Then he began to climb up the staircase to make room for Daniel. When Shy reached the top, he motioned for Daniel to join him. They could see Sawyer and Finn throwing a football across open air. Sawyer stood on the same platform as them and tossed the ball to Finn, who stood on a platform several trees over.
"We don't really need to be quiet. You can't hear anything we say out there," Shy instructed. "Watch this…"
As the ball came wobbling in the air to Sawyer, Shy let out the most awful scream he could. Daniel jumped at the sudden scream, but Sawyer, who was just outside the Glamour of the staircase, didn't even flinch.
"That's awesome," Daniel glowed. "Sawyer, you have a huge butt!!!!"
The two boys giggled.
"Do we want to show them?" Shy asked.
"Yeah but let's scare 'em first. Let's both jump out right as the ball is coming"
"OK. Wait for it, waaaait for it…." Just after Finn let the ball fly, Shy yelled, "NOW!"
Both boys simultaneously jumped out from the stairwell to either side of Sawyer, yelling and screaming. Not only did Sawyer not catch the ball, he ran screaming from them like he was going to jump into the Hive. Finn was already running toward them across rope and plank connectors, from platform to platform. Sawyer stopped screaming and looked back as he heard the boys laughing uproariously.
"Real funny you jerks! Where were you? Were you hiding behind the tree?"
Shy and Daniel by this time were laughing so hard, tears were starting to form. As Finn landed on the platform in a rush, Ralph and Henry also ran up, having heard the commotion.
"What's goin' on?" Henry immediately asked. "What!?"
Shy and Daniel were now heaving in recovery on the ground. They wiped their eyes as Henry demanded to know exactly what was so funny. Off to the side Finn was speaking very emphatically with Sawyer. Sawyer, for his part, was alternately looking embarrassed by his response and incredulous by what Finn was telling him.
"We jumped out and scared Sawyer," Daniel began. "He ran screaming like a little girl!"
Both Daniel and Shy began to laugh again, but just then Sawyer stormed over, with Finn at his heels.
"Alright, what's going on? Finn claims you two jumped right out of the tree!"
"They did!" Finn agreed.
Henry looked at them, and then looked at Shy and Daniel and asked, "how high up did you climb? You must have been all the way up into the pine needle for them not to have seen you."
"No, no, no…." Finn interrupted. "I mean, they jumped OUT of the tree…. Out of the middle of it."
Henry and Ralph stared uncomprehendingly at Finn. Sawyer, meanwhile, was staring alternately at Shy and Daniel and then at the big pine. Suddenly, he walked over to the tree, and stuck his hand into it, right up to the elbow! Shy noticed Sawyer's experiment, and as he continued to move more of his body into the tree, Shy finally spoke up.
"Guys, watch Sawyer."
As they all turned to watch, the stout boy had half his body inside the Glamour, and was dipping his head in and quickly pulling it out. Finally, he stuck his whole head in, and his body followed. To Ralph, Henry, and Finn, he had disappeared!
"Get Tad, get Gust!" Henry began to scream. The tree ate Sawyer!"
"It's OK. It's OK Henry. It just a hidden stairwell…. Kind of like how Tom T hides from us. Fairy magic. It's called Glamour. That tree is really a spiral staircase." Noting the look of disbelief on Henry's face, he added, "Come on."
The five boys approached the image of the tree just as Sawyer, breathing heavy, ran back onto the platform.
"It's a stairway! It goes all the way to the ground! What is this?" He turned to Shy and Daniel with the question as Finn, Henry, and Ralph began to explore.
Shy explained again how he could see through what Gust had called Glamour. He even explained how the first time he saw Glamour, he really had to focus. He couldn't do it if he wasn't purposefully trying, or so it seemed. They immediately took turns asking questions, which Shy answered patiently, though he himself did not know much about the Glamour.
Finally, Daniel asked, "Have you seen anything else? I mean anything else that is Glamour covered?"
"Well…. I have seen Tom T's whole body. He looks like a hairy little man. And, you all know I saw the fossegrimen, and his hiding place in the side of the cliff. Those were both hidden with Glamour. Oh yeah, I have also seen one other entrance to these cabins!"
"Where… what is it?" Several boys blurted out.
"I can take you there. Do we have time before lunch?"
"We can make it." Daniel said.
Shy was kind of embarrassed to be the leader, but nonetheless, he led them back down the spiral staircase, to the forest flo
or. They all headed off to where Gust had showed him the magic rope. As they descended, Henry decided they needed to name each of these entrances, just like the Elevator had a name. He called the staircase the Unicorn Horn.
***
They played with the magic rope entrance several times each. It would deposit them on a platform that was very close to the Eagle and Cardinal cabins. They talked about searching for other hidden entrances, but it was soon time to head to the Lodge for lunch, and they knew that Tad would be looking for them. So, they forced themselves to harness their excitement, and set off for lunch.
Chapter Ten:
"Huldra! She's a huldra!"
Shy and Daniel departed the Lodge that evening in much the same way they had previously for nighttime geo-caching practice. They had water, energy bar, flashlight, compass, map, and a set of directions to follow. This time their direction of departure took them in a southeasterly direction, towards the beach and the Shore cabins. They saw all three other Cabins' duo of competitors head the opposite way, towards the northeast. Shy wondered if that was on purpose. He had seen Gust whispering with Tad and the other counselors. Maybe they were purposely trying to keep Shy and Daniel away from all the other groups, especially the Cave cabins, so there were no more incidents. Shy felt excitement in the pit of his stomach. He wondered if that was what his Mom meant when she talked about having butterflies. It did seem like something was fluttering around in there, but he wasn't uncomfortable, it just felt strange. Maybe it was a figment of his overall nervousness, but he felt like there were eyes watching him. It was probably just that they hadn't done much hiking in this area. Not only that, they really hadn't had much interaction with the girls in the Shore cabins at all. Shy didn't know any of their names..
"Why do you keep looking back?" Daniel asked.
"I think I am just nervous and excited."
"They all went the other way, uphill, towards our cabins."
"I know… It just feels like we are being watched."
"No worries… It's probably Gust checking up on us. I just was wondering if you, you know, saw something."
"No, it was just a feeling…. So, tell me again what the guys are doing." Shy changed the subject.
"They are hanging in the Hive. They will act like they are going to bed later, in case Tad comes back or anyone is watching them, but they will actually sneak off to meet us in the Unicorn Horn.
"We are going to find our geo cache, and then follow its instructions. If Tad is at the cabins after that, we will need to figure out how to get you out of bed. Buuuut…. if he is with the other counselors, Clancy, and Gust at the Lodge, like we think he will be, then we will simply act like we are returning to the cabins. Actually though, we will set up a dummy of you in your bed, meet up with the guys, and then hike to the waterfall. If Tad comes back to the Raven before you get back, the dummy will make it look like you are sleeping."
"I don't like tricking Tad, he has been pretty nice to us." Shy said.
"Well, we gotta do something if we are going to find this treasure. Come on, we are getting close. The key is for us to find this quick, and get back. Then we will have more of a chance of getting to the waterfall and back before Tad gets back to your cabin. Sawyer and Finn set up a few booby traps for the other groups, so that should delay them some. Let's see, Sawyer said they marked the spot with some piled up rocks. We should be close."
Dusk had now turned to dark, and Daniel swept his flashlight beam back and forth over the rocky shoreline. Ancient volcanic rock had been carved first by the glaciers when they retracted across Minnesota, then by eons of Lake Superior's constant waves. The result was low cliffs and rocks jutting into the waves. This rocky shoreline released down to the beach, but that was farther south from where they were. Shy could hear the waves crashing close by. He had never been to the ocean, but he imagined that this is what it sounded like. It was a treacherous place to be walking in the dark, with huge cracks and crevices covering the rocks. Although it was only dusk, Shy was very careful about where he placed his feet. A twisted ankle would end their treasure hunting for the night.
"There!" Daniel yelled as he focused his beam on a small pile of rocks. It might have been missed by someone that wasn't looking for it. Shy shined a path for them while Daniel kept his flashlight trained on the prize. When they reached the rock pile, they looked around for the geo cache tube. It didn't take long before they had it in hand, and were reading their instructions. This time the instructions simply asked them to return to the Lodge.
"OK, let's go."
"What if they make us wait at the Lodge?" Shy began to worry as usual.
"They won't." Daniel answered.
"How do you know?" Shy asked.
Daniel shined the flashlight on his face from below and said, "I have a plan for that."
He refused to tell Shy what the plan was, however, which made Shy think that the plan would probably get them in trouble. They proceeded from the rocky shoreline onto the forest trail that would bring them up to the Lodge. They both walked in silence, lost in their own thoughts.
CRACK!
The sound was loud and close, and interrupted their progress. They both immediately shined their lights off into the woods to the left, where the sound had come from.
"I hear breathing!" Shy hissed.
The two boys looked at each other, faces frozen in fear. They began to back up, facing the unseen foe, but moving away from it. Then, softly, a giggle came from just beyond their limited sight. The two stayed together, but backed off the path. Daniel shined his light at where he thought the sounds had come from. From behind a tree stepped a figure. It was just a girl. She giggled again, and stepped onto the path. Daniel also moved back onto the path, and Shy quickly followed.
"Really?" Daniel sounded a little angry. "You scared the crap out of us. Who are you?"
The girl didn't answer. Rather, she moved up the path towards them a few steps. She appeared a few years older than the two boys. She was really quite pretty. Still not saying a word, she simply held out her hand, and beckoned them forward. Shy felt himself wanting to go with her, but in the back of his head he felt something wrong. He stared at her, and to his surprise, Daniel took a step forward!
"Daniel…. We gotta go… remember? DANIEL!"
The taller boy continued forward, slow step after slow step. Shy stared at her again, and something changed. Her image blurred slightly. It seemed like he had to try to focus, like he was looking at her through someone else's glasses. Then, she snapped back into focus. What he saw shocked him! She had the snout of a calf, and a chubby body, with hooves on the end of her arms! He could see a cow tail swishing from side to side behind her. One of Tads lectures came back to him.
"Huldra! She's a huldra! Daniel stop!" Shy screamed.
At that point Shy heard footsteps running up the path from behind them. He turned just in time to see Gust barrel past him and grab Daniel. Daniel flailed in his arms, and beat at him trying to get free. The creature on the path let out a long hiss, and then vanished. Daniel was out of control, wailing his fists on Gust's backside. Shy already had suspicions that Gust was not the skinny old man he appeared to be. Those suspicions continued to prove true as his grip on the wiggling boy never wavered. Eventually Daniel began to quiet, and Gust placed him back down onto the ground.
"Can't leave you out of my sight Shylock." Gust complained as he stroked his mustache.
"That was a huldra, wasn't it?" Shy immediately cut to the chase.
"Hmmmph." Gust answered noncommittally.
Daniel was bent over, hands on his knees. He retched a few times, but did not lose his last meal. Shy walked over by him, pulled out his water, and offered it to Daniel. He took a big gulp and straightened up.
"Oh God," He began. "I could hear Shy yelling, but the words just didn't make sense. It was like my brain shut down, except for one thought... I needed to go with her. My stomach feels like I am going to throw up."
Gust in
structed Daniel to eat his energy bar and drink some water. Then he turned to Shy.
"So, tell me son, what did you see? Once you saw through the Glamour, what did you see?"
Shy told him about the snout, hooves, and tail, and then glanced at Daniel. He was horrified, and scared. Obviously he had not seen anything of the sort.
"Hmmmph. " Gust repeated. "Back to the Lodge. Now!"
His no nonsense tone, and Daniel's stomach, left zero room for argument. Not that Shy felt like it anyway. He pretty much assumed the treasure hunting would not happen tonight. He knew that he should just be happy that they escaped the huldra encounter and that they were safe. Deep down though, he felt sad and disappointed that the treasure hunting wasn't a go.
They returned to the Lodge in silence a short while later, to Clancy's surprise. Her eyebrows shot up instantly at the appearance of Gust and Daniel holding his stomach. Gust briefly explained the situation.
"Shylock here claims this little vixen actually looked like a cow…. Tail and all." Gust emphasized the word 'tail' in such a way that Clancy looked back at him from the boys. "I only saw a cute little girl, but she glared daggers as I ran up, then hissed and took off… fast. Wasn't any of our kids. Funny thing is, the affect she had on the boy here, was more than just hiding her true appearance. It seemed like she was drawing him to her through his mind."
Gust and Clancy locked eyes for a moment longer, with no words passing between them. Tad and the other counselors bounced in, having a raucous conversation, which quickly dwindled at the sight of the two boys.
"What?" Tad asked.
Neither of the other adults answered right away, so Shy decided to pipe up.
"We found our geo cache! Then we found a huldra. Gust rescued us, or rescued Daniel anyway."
Tad looked incredulously from the boys to Clancy, then to Gust. The old man gave a single nod as he continued to stroke his white handlebar mustache.
"Well," Clancy began, "I hesitated to listen to Gust when he told me about the special abilities you seem to have Shy. However, it would seem prudent for Gust to keep watch on you for the remainder of the camp. You truly seem to be attracting the attention of the Fey in these woods."
The Fossegrimen Folly Page 14
