The Laila Mythology

Chapter three: Lev, Tuck and Volk.

 

 

After a short walk through the shady underbrush they came out upon a wide muddy track that resembled a bridleway running off through the trees. It was pitted and uneven, and rainwater had accumulated in the deep furrows that ran throughout its entirety. Tall beech and hornbeam trees flanked either side, creating a grand avenue that took on the appearance of a nave. Like a magnificent gothic cathedral their limbs stretched up high to support a fan vault ceiling of intricate branches over head.

“I hope it’s not far to the weir?” said Laila trying to avoid the numerous pools of mud.

“It’s not that far,” said Jack who unlike Laila made no attempt to avoid them, contently trampling merrily on through the quagmire. The pace was fairly slow as he had to stop frequently to wait for Laila, who tiptoed daintily along the narrow undisturbed perimeter of the track.

“I’m sorry if I’m slowing you down” she said trying to free herself from yet another bramble stem. But Jack never complained once, instead he offered to carry her on his back again to which she declined due to her stubborn pride.

On and on they plodded along the unending track. With every corner they turned another awaited, and when they reached the end of that they were greeted with much of the same. With no sign of the weir Laila eventually began to feel dispirited.

“How much further now Jack?” she asked.

“Not far!” he replied.

“But you told me it wasn’t far hours ago” she said scraping the thick mud from the soles of her shoes with a small stick. “Could you be a bit more specific?” she asked.  

Jack paused and scratched his leafy locks. “Err, about ten miles,” he said casually, as if ten miles was nothing more than a short saunter , whereas Laila on the other hand was not so nonchalant.  

“Ten miles! Are you joking!” she cried. “We’ll never make it there before nightfall”.

“Yes I know” he smiled cheerfully.

“What!, you mean to say you knew all along?”.

“Sure! We Green men know everything about seasonal sunsets”.

“But why did you tell me that it wasn’t that far to the weir?” she asked in dismay.

“Because I didn’t want to dampen your spirits, and also I rather hoped you would have moved a little bit faster to be honest,” he said.

“But I’m only a small person Jack, I’m not a horse!”.

“That’s a shame, because if you were we would have easily been there by now,” he chuckled but Laila was not amused.

 “So what happens now?” she asked peevishly folding her arms.

“I recommend we set up camp here for the night, it will be dark in a couple of hours and we can make an early start in the morning. There’s a nice area of level ground a hundred yards ahead which will be ideal,” he said squelching off again.

“Hang on!” snapped Laila. “You’re not telling me that we have to sleep in the forest again are you?”.

“No, you’re the one who will be sleeping, we Green men don’t need sleep”.

“But Jack its freezing out here in the woods!. And to tell you the truth this place gives me the creeps!”.

“Don’t worry! I’ll take good care of you” he replied and set about collecting dead wood en route to the camp.