The cave was dark and damp. Water dripped from the ceiling of the entrance, creating a rhythmic beat that echoed throughout the hollow den. Nearby, the scaly creature paced about. Its tale scraped the stone floor with a faint, chilling whisper. Its red eyes, seated above a long snout and mouth full of sharp teeth, watched the young girl huddled against the wall. After a few more minutes of pacing, it stomped over to the human.
“Can you climb trees?” It asked in its deep, gravely voice. The sound was similar to sandpaper on stone.
Maria looked up at her captor. “Maybe”, she answered in and even voice.
The Gothil grunted. He walked to the entrance of the cave, the growled for Maria to follow. The two creatures silently slid through the woods, careful of the slippery ground. After a while, they reached a tree that seemed to stretch all the way to the cloudy sky. For a moment, both looked up into the dark mass of leaves that rustled in the wind and sprayed droplets of water on them. Then the Gothil turned to Maria.
“Hidden up there is a chest. It holds a treasure dear to me. If you can return that to me safely, then I will let you go. If not…” The large reptile glared at the human.
Maria gulped. Then she nodded and started to climb the tree, her movements slow and hesitant. She managed to find some footing on the slick bark, and when she reached a large branch, she paused. Looking down, her head swirled at the sight of the ground below her. Taking a few deep breaths, she force herself to look back up. Don’t look down, don’t look down…she thought.
Slowly she climbed higher, forcing herself to concentrate on finding safe footholds and branched to grab. She tried to look at the leaves covered with spheres of dew, but from time to time her eyes once again fell to the ground. Each time she would have to stop and catch her breath before continuing. Finally, she reached a hole where a silver chest could be seen. Carefully, she took it and started down. When she neared the ground, she could her an excited voice that was strangely familiar. With a sudden burst of energy, she struggled down and dropped to the ground, her legs giving way beneath her.
Zoey was yelling at the Gothil, her fists flinging everywhere. The Gothil simply blocked the blows with its large, clawed hands. None of them noticed the pale girl with the chest.
“Stop, Zoey, stop!” Maria cried, shakily getting to her feet.
Her twin turned to look at her, shock spreading across her face. Maria went over to the creature and handed him the chest. Grunting, he took it and started to stomp away. However, Maria wanted answers.
“What’s in that box?” she asked.
“None of your business”, the creature growled.
Zoey was still baffled. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“The creature wanted to me to help him get the chest from a hiding place up in that tree.” Maria explained.
“You climbed a tree?”
“Yeah”.
“Oh, well I guess this is just a weird day. I just met a dwarf who said that we must bathe the acid rain bird in theLake ofLife, or else earth will be a barren wasteland.” Zoey confessed.
“What? We should hurry, then. How do we get to the lake?”
“That is a very good question”, Zoey answered, and edge in her voice.
“You need only follow the path. Look around and you will see it”, a gruff voice grumbled. The girls turned to see the back of the Gothil disappearing into the shadows of the forest.
Puzzled, the girls looked around. The forest was dark and quiet. The animals were no longer chittering and chirping. Instead, they were poised in various place, watching the two girls. Zoe fidgeted under the watchful stares, but Maria noticed something. Gasping, she exclaimed, “ The animals! They are all in a line, as though making a path!”
“You’re right! Let’s go!”
The two girls started off, the animals still watching.