They stood outside a shack in the middle of a grassy field. Frides and Elle sat by the shack, with Ouran peeping into the window.
"There's nothing in here. Its dark and empty. Is there supposed to be someone here?" Ouran asked Nero.
Frides opened and closed the door. "How does it work? When will it turn into a normal door?"
Elle looked inside. Every time it opened, she could see the couches and red paint on the walls to the left. She could see the bar on the right side and the window over the sink. Through the window was the familiar setting of the forest of maple trees that surrounded the house.
"I don't know." Blipp said. "No one ever walked back through it. I've seen the writing burn and disappear in a few hours and sometimes over a few days. But when I used the door it didn't teleport me, that's for sure."
"You're a Retainer now. Things are going to be different. Are you guys ready?" Nero marched ahead into the waist high grass followed by Blipp. "Hey Elle!"
Elle and Frides and Ouran joined behind them. "What?"
"What do you know about this place?"
"Rar." Frides looked behind him.
"Urs. What are you waiting for?" He waded through the thick grass and tried to pick her up. She walked up to the grass and smelled it and sneezed. "Are you allergic to grass?" He picked her up and placed her on his back.
"Brissage is home to something called the Mother Tree. There are tons of legends and Fari tales centered around it. But its mostly known as the oldest living tree."
"Oh. What are the Fari tales?" Nero asked encouragingly.
"Ouran, can you take this?" Frides freed one hand and handed Ouran the bag from over his shoulder.
Ouran grabbed the bag and held it over his head. "Why me? This grass is so tall I can barely see over it." Blipp plucked he bag from on top of his head, and placed it on her shoulder with one hand. "How can you do that with one hand?"
"It's not that heavy." She wiggled it a little bit. "I'm with Nero. If the transportation Fari tale is true, then who knows what else."
Elles eyes bulged. "You agree with Nero? Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"I've seen things that I can't explain. I've seen my moms sister shatter a bolder just by holding her hand against it." Blipp put her hand up and wiggled her fingers.
"Whoa!" Ouran hooted.
"Saw it with my own eyes." She pointed at her eyes.
"I saw someone turn invisible. Well… Um… You know what I mean. I could still hear them but I couldn't see them. Like a ghost." Nero said.
Elles eyes shot open. "You did?"
Frides looked at her. "Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm okay. The myth or whatever goes like this. The great Boar was being pestered by a newly married couple. They would show up at the bottom of the mountain and ask him how has he lived so long. He was great when they were still young, and even as they were in their prime, he was still great. He said there is no beauty in living forever. They protested. One day we will wither and ache. Is that so bad he said. I will never feel anything for anything. Beauty comes and goes for me. There will be another just as beautiful with all the same colors and shine. I will always know that there will be another and another. I wait ages and ages for excitement and wonder. If a dragon flew through the sky right now you might reel in awe and fear. I have seen one before. In fact I have seen them all. I have seen everything. I have tasted everything. Where is the value in an endless existence. He asked. What about all the things you don't have time for? Like what? He asked. Like love. We are in love and could never get enough of it. The great boar laughed. Do you believe you're love will last forever? You should be glad that you're life is so short. Love is one of the things that is best with one life. Love is quickly fleeting, then comes the heart ache. Would you want that to last forever? This went on for years and finally the great boar tasked them with gathering the pollen of a flower growing from a nearby tree. They did and he made them an elixir and granted them immortality."
"The people of Volsiri?" Nero realized.
"Yes, there is a village of a few thousand eternals in Vosliri?" Elle said sacrcastically then scoffed but was met with skeptical stares. "It's a Fari tale you guys. Why has no one ever met one immortal person."
"Yes they have. People have written tons of books about them." He argued.
"What about you Frides?" Elle asked.
He thought for a second. "If I saw them. I would have no choice but to believe it."
"What about vampires?" Elle scoffed.
"If I saw them." He exhaled putting up a hand to forestall her. "I'm just saying, I will have to keep a more open mind from now on."
"That's very wise of you Frides." Blipp awarded. "It's a good thing for a man to keep an open mind about things he is not sure about. You can't have all the answers."
Elle looked from Blipp to Frides. "We're talking about vampires!"
"And earlier we were firmly of the mind that there was no such thing as teleportation. That was just a Fari tale too. Look at us now wading through chest high grass, in a field outside our door in the place of the forest that was there this morning." Nero laughed.
"With that in mind, mutated people that suck blood seem a bit tame." Blipp pointed out.
"I give up." Elle shook her head. "Where are we going?"
Nero was at the head of the group, zig zagging through the tall grass. "To the top of that big tree."
"Why?"
"Clear the thicket." Nero spread his arms indicating the tall grass, then he stopped and pointed at the massive tree in front of them. "Climb the stalk?"
"That's not fair. You and these riddles make the same amount of sense. It's like another language for idiots."
"Its obvious." They followed him through the trees until they were traveling through the densely packed forest.