Hello, From the Edge of the World

Chapter Four: Part One

Chapter Four

"Part One: The Gyle Goblin Colony"

After what felt like hours of walking and searching, we still could not find the path. Every rock and branch we turned over seemed to mock us for trying to find our way out. Sweat dripped down my back, and the dense canopy of trees blocked the sky completely. The atmosphere felt damp, and the air clung to my skin like a wet blanket. Twig definitely told Elspeth and I the truth when he said that the Deepwoods would not bid new travelers welcome. Creatures scurried underneath bits of shrubbery and into knobby-looking trees to seek refuge from us, and unfriendly eyes watched our every move. 'I'm starving,' I thought. 'But nothing looks even remotely edible here, aside from us apparently.'

Twig's face perked up, and he motioned for us to follow him through the greenery. I guess I was thinking out loud. As we swatted away at thorny vines and squeezed through knotted limbs, I heard Twig breathe a sigh of relief. "I've found it!" he exclaimed, happily. At the center of the glen, there stood a very curious-looking tree, which grew an even more peculiar red fruit. "My father, Tuntum always told me to follow my nose—and it led us to a woodsap tree—which is a fortunate discovery for us, considering that this food will not cause someone to disappear!" He clapped his hands together and walked towards the tree. I let out a soft laugh under my breath that I hoped no person could hear. "Someone please get me off of this crazy train," I contemplated to myself. Elspeth walked up next to Twig, who assured us that this food was completely safe for us to eat. Our fantasies did not last very long. She waved for me to come pick out a piece.

The second Twig brushed his fingertips against the skins to pull our harvest from its stem, the earth underneath us suddenly began to shift and shake violently. A tarry vine seized Twig, and flung him somewhere far off in the distance. Elspeth ran as she tried to dodge the branches that fell everywhere we looked. Trees limbs swayed around us, and a great chasm opened right out from below my feet. Very soon, I plunged downwards into the deep abyss. Lower and lower I fell into the darkness of the void. The walls smelled sickeningly sweet and felt sticky to the touch. I could see neither Twig, nor could I sense Elspeth's presence anymore. I was alone for the first time in this new world, and I did not know where I would land, or how I would get out. Closing my eyes, I prayed for a safe landing at the very least. I could sense that the bottom was nearby. Maybe, there would be a light at the end of the tunnel for me after all. Or maybe not.

A large squelching sound broke my fall, and there was a foul, pungent stench upon the air. I raised my finger to my nose and gagged instantly. I had fallen on into a pit of garbage, composed of junk, rotten woodsaps, and other bits and pieces of decaying objects that I dared not to touch. Feeling my way around the walls of the room, (it was still pitch-black after all), I began to lament loudly at my sorry expense. "How am I going to get out?" I shouted into the void. "What have I done to deserve this madness!" The darkness did not answer my cries for help. Tears streamed from my face as I started to kick the sticky walls in frustration. "Stupid, stupid Deepwoods! Of course you wouldn't answer, because places like this never have one—unlike the real world—where all of our food is safe, and there are no demons, trapdoors, or hidden paths!" I yelled.

Then suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something that gleamed brightly under the floating mounds of trash. I ran over to the source of the light, and dug until I found what I was looking for. Brushing the blood, sweat, and tears from my brow, I spotted a broken short sword that shone the deepest shade of blue I could ever imagine, and heard a voice in my head that sounded like soft singing, but it was gone in only a second. I gathered the pieces together and held them up to my face, for the light in the darkness of the abyss provided a shred of comfort. "Do you think you could lead me to the way out?" I thought, shakily. As if the sword had read my thoughts, the pieces rose out of my hands and high into the air, and started to burn brightly until the entire room glowed in a brilliant blue, and reassembled itself back into its original shape. The sight of the room took my breath away, and this time it was not from the smell of mouldy woodsap pieces. For I was not in any old room, but instead was standing in the middle of a maze, with multiple tunnels in every direction.