Crashing trees and creaking gems. Strange sounds followed us through the forest. Noel and I tried to catch our breaths beside a small stream. We wet our lips, wiped the sweat off our faces, and continued onward.
We weren't in the Forest of Three anymore. We'd already raced across the plains and run into another forest. We'd caught sight of The Terrible right as we ran into the forest. The monster wreaked havoc on the plains, digging up ground, setting fire to everything with its lasers, and filling the air with its unnatural creaking. It seemed like it really had been chasing us all along, so Noel and I were at least comforted by the fact it hadn't gone off to attack the Jora tribe.
"Almost there," said Noel as we made our way through the trees.
"What if they don't let us in?" I asked.
"Then we run out the other way," said Noel.
"What other way, there was only one entrance?" I said.
"Guess the other way is death, then," said Noel.
I shrugged. "Great. What a brilliant plan."
"It was your idea!" accused Noel.
"You should've talked me out of it!" I countered.
"It's a good plan," said Noel as she hopped over a stream. "The birds gave us magic and they hate the God of Evil. Didn't you see the way the Oracle reacted when we mentioned them?"
"I did see that, which was why I had this idea in the first place," I said as I climbed over a log. "But then I remembered how we got inside that tree in the first place. Don't you remember the way the moon and red star looked at us that day?"
"So what? Neither of them are out right now," said Noel.
"Neither of them were out that day either, it was still daytime!" I said.
"Details, details," said Noel, "besides, if they won't let us in when we beg, we can just say the poem like last time."
"They told us not to do that," I reminded her.
"I'm sure they'll understand with this monster barreling behind us," she said. As if to accentuate her point, a large tree creaked and groaned before snapping in two in the distance.
"Fine, but if they don't let us in when we do that, we need to run right back out," I said. "Then we can try to make our way to the highlands. Maybe we'll lose that thing somehow." Another crash in the distance. Yeah, I didn't believe myself either. The plan to ask the birds for help had been my idea, but if it wasn't for Noel's insistence, we'd definitely be on a doomed rush to the highlands along the wide open plains. There were no good options in front of us, I told myself. Caught between a rock and a hard place, as the cheesy movies would say.
We arrived at the wall of tree roots. Noel led us around the perimeter, looking for the hole we'd gone in through last time. All the while, the sound of crashing trees grew closer and closer. "Over there," yelled Noel. We raced to the fallen root and climbed carefully over the rotting wood. We walked into the clearing, which was eerily quiet this late at night.
The canopy hid the stars so well, the entire sky was dark and desolate. The giant tree was as majestic and sublime as ever, but in the dim light, it looked like a stalactite hanging off the roof of the night, piercing into the tender flesh of the Earth below.
"What do we say?" asked Noel as we approached the tree.
"I don't know, we don't even know their name, or names. I'm not sure if they're all one being," I said. "But beggars don't have to use names." I got on my knees, clasped my hands together, and drew from my years of experience in New York City. "Spare some change? No, wait, I mean. Oh great one, save us from our pursuer. It was sent by your enemy, the God of Evil. Please, help us!"
I looked up at the tree, but nothing happened. I tried a few more killer phrases, even managed to muster a couple of tears, but by the time I was sobbing and beating the tree trunk with a fist, yelling don't leave me, don't leave me, Noel grabbed me by the shoulder and forced me to stand.
"Let's try the poem," she said.
I waved my fist at the tree one last time before agreeing to Noel's idea. She made me stand far away from the tree before she stepped right up next to the tree trunk.
"You taught me to drink from your eyes, the ripe red wine of love. Wrought in the heavens from pure moonlight, the whole world dances for you. Repentance torn to tatters, I can see nothing but you. With my feet in the waves, I drink from the sea. I am drunk off your gaze, I am drunk off your love. I am drunk off of this gentle feeling of intense ecstasy. This gentle feeling of intense ecstasy, I blame on your gaze. This gentle feeling of intense ecstasy, I am drunk off your gaze."
"You know, it sounds better the second time around," I mused. Noel cut me a strong look but when she met my gaze she hurriedly looked back at the tree. A small, human-sized door appeared in front of Noel. It was a simple, wooden door, with no carvings or markings of any sort. The doorknob was in the shape of a bird, although not one I recognized.
"What is this?" asked Noel.
"Huh? Oh right, here," I said as I walked up to the door and twisted the doorknob. I pulled the door open and gestured for Noel to walk into the darkness behind it. "After you."
---
"So the elves on your Earth—d"
"Humans," I corrected. "There are no elves on my Earth. No magic, either."
"That's weird," said Noel as we walked through the dark tunnel. We'd been walking through a lot of dark tunnels lately. Hopefully, we wouldn't make it into a habit. "The humans on your Earth don't live in tents?"
"Some of them do," I said. "We built permanent houses once we stopped needing to migrate in search of food and water."
"You stay in the same place for every season?" she asked. "Doesn't it get too cold or too hot."
"Yeah, it does, and there's a whole bunch of other problems that came with moving from a hunter gatherer to an agricultural lifestyle, but maybe we can talk about that later," I said. "We've arrived."
We were back at the room at the heart of the tree. Up above, the sky opened up, except the sky was a bright shade of blue, as if the sun was still out. The birds stood on their perches like last time, except now they had been expecting us, and were facing the tunnel when we stepped out. Noel and I were about to bow and greet the birds when the lead bird—the one with the crown of feathers—raised its wing.
"There is no need for pleasantries," said the bird. The other birds stared at us, unblinking.
"Yes, well," I began, "we need your help. We are being pursued."
"Pursued?" said the bird. "By what?"
"A five starred monster, one the elves call The Terrible," I said. "It serves the God of Evil."
I jumped as the birds ruffled their feathers. One of the largest birds unfurled their plumage, fluttering their feathers and shaking them. Each one was brightly colored, with what looked like an eye in the middle of an intricate pattern.
"You speak of an enemy," said the bird with the crown.
"I apologize for my friend's insensitivity," said Noel as she nudged me with her elbow. "But he is telling the truth. We are being chased by a powerful minion of your enemy. We have no hope of defeating it, but we were hoping you could help us deal with it, oh great one!" Noel lowered her gaze and made a respectful gesture.
I followed her and said: "We know it is a lot to ask, but we have no other choice."
"You had another choice," said the bird. "You had the choice to die."
I shivered. This wasn't going the way I was hoping it would. "That is not an option for mortals like us."
The lead bird flapped its wings and hovered in front of me. With the slow, gentle way it was beating its wings, it should not have been able to stay so steady in front of me, but there it was, staring right into my eyes with its own small, beady black ones. It took a long look at me before pecking me on the forehead. I winced and recoiled. That really hurt!
"It seems you are right," said the bird as it came to a rest on my shoulder. Its head flicked from side to side as it observed my face. I resisted the urge to swat it away. I was afraid it would peck me again.
"The enemy's minion cannot come near my tree," said the bird, "and it will not leave until it has killed you. You should rest a while and pay for your favor."
"How can we pay for it?" I asked, carefully.
"There are many things I hope to learn from you, outsider. Perhaps something from your world will help me turn the tide against my enemies once and for all," said the bird.
"Deal," I said as the bird hopped off my shoulder. "I think you'll like what we did with your previous gift."
"My previous gift?" said the bird.
I answered by pointing a finger to the ceiling and letting loose a small, brightly burning, flame.