by Brandon Mull
“I’m vegetable, not animal,” Patton said. “Not really a person. But I’ll help you get there.”
“You have the plan worked out?” Kendra asked.
“It’s a go,” Patton said. “Best I could manage on short notice.”
“What are we doing?” Seth asked.
“Going to meet a fairy named Risenmay,” Patton said.
“A fairy?” Knox asked.
“No typical fairy,” Patton said. “One of the greater fairies. Kind of like a queen bee.”
“Is she a unicorn, like the Fairy Queen?” Kendra asked.
“No, Risenmay is a true fairy,” Patton said. “Larger than normal. She has powers that will help us tonight.”
“What powers?” Seth asked.
“I can’t say,” Patton replied.
“Is it a secret?” Kendra asked.
“Well, yes,” Patton said. “But I can’t reveal it no matter how much I want to. My lips are sealed by magic. It is part of the price of bargaining with Risenmay.”
“But she can help us get to Stormguard Castle at the right time,” Tanu verified.
“Exactly,” Patton said. “Literally couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“She lives in the Zowali Protectorate?” Seth asked.
Patton shook his head. “Outside, in the Bewilderness.”
“That sounds made up,” Knox said.
“It’s a dangerous region,” Patton said. “Mostly forested. No dragons go there.”
“Does it adjoin the Zowali Protectorate?” Seth asked.
“No, but the Bewilderness is on the border of the Sentient Wood, which can be reached by a tunnel from the Protectorate,” Patton said. “We’ll all want to bring mounts.”
“The Sentient Wood can be entered only with permission,” an owl said from a perch.
“I just got the permission,” Patton said. “One of the wooden henchmen owed me a favor.”
“Wooden henchmen?” Knox asked.
“Woodlings,” Patton said. “I’ll explain on the way. Everyone needs a mount,” he repeated.
“I’ll go with Glory,” Kendra said. Glory bobbed her head, then nuzzled Kendra as she drew near.
“Noble is good for me,” Seth said.
Noble stamped in agreement.
“I’ll stick with Captain,” Patton said. “We need three more mounts.”
“I’ll take the big one,” a large chestnut mare said. “I’m Charlemagne.” Tanu approached and introduced himself.
“I’m Rodolfo,” said a gray stallion with a black mane and tail. “It would be my pleasure to carry Lomo.”
“I’ll take the other boy,” a Bactrian camel offered.
“Whoa,” Knox said. “Are you fast?”
“I’m excellent over long distances,” the camel said.
“Do I sit between the humps?” Knox asked.
“Precisely,” the camel said, kneeling down. “Call me Babak.”
“Knox.”
“Short for obnoxious,” Seth said.
“And Seth is short for Seth Breath of Death,” Knox said.
“Do I need a mount?” Calvin asked. “I usually just ride in Seth’s pocket.”
“A mount would be sensible,” Patton said. “Maybe not at first, but all will come clear before the day is out.”
A male rabbit cleared his throat. “I may have trouble keeping up with horses, but it would be my honor.”
Calvin brightened. “I was talking with Thistleton before breakfast. He’d be great!”
“We can carry the rabbit most of the way,” Patton said.
“Deal,” Thistleton agreed, hopping over to Captain. “I’ve never ridden a horse before.”
Kendra mounted Glory and patted her neck. Patton scooped up Thistleton and leaped onto Captain.
“Would you like an escort?” Raj Faranah asked.
“Just send word to the other animals to watch out for us,” Patton said. “We ride for the secret tunnel to the Sentient Wood.”
“Thanks for your hospitality,” Kendra said.
“Thank you for your courage against the dragons,” Raj replied.
“’Bye, Gorban,” Kendra said. “’Bye, Sherman.”
The bear and the fox bade her farewell.
“Off we go,” Patton said. He and Captain led the others out of Shelter. They rode together under the morning light.
“So what is the Sentient Wood?” Seth asked.
“Like it sounds, the trees are intelligent,” Patton said. “Much more conscious than most trees. Anything made from their wood comes to life.”
“Can dragons attack us there?” Tanu asked.
“There is a powerful barrier around the wood,” Patton said. “Not even caretakers can enter without permission.”
“But you got permission,” Knox said.
“I once helped one of their henchmen out of a tight fix,” Patton said. “Trees remember.”
“Then the Bewilderness,” Kendra said.
“Yes,” Patton replied. “It will be dangerous.”
“What else is new?” Seth said.
“It’s a risk worth taking,” Patton said. “If we can find Risenmay before sundown, our chances of making it to Stormguard Castle on time improve markedly.”
“Then we should pick up the pace,” Babak said.
Kendra held on as Glory increased her pace to an easy lope. The other mounts did likewise.
The Sentient Wood
The sun was almost directly overhead when Captain came to a stop in front of a large gate in the side of a hillock. Beyond the gate, a tunnel slanted downward. Seth and the others halted alongside him.
“Back already?” asked a whispery voice that startled Seth.
He turned to find a snake leaning out of a dying tree with spindly branches. The serpent was doing a good job of blending with the wooden limbs.
“I brought my friends,” Patton said. “Meet Samba the boomslang.”
Seth and the others greeted the snake.
Patton dismounted and opened the gate. “We’re ready to leave the Protectorate. No trouble today?”
“No trouble ever,” the boomslang said. “A guard is not really needed on this end. But I like the area for my own purposes, so I keep watch. The only beings with access from the other side are the woodlings and a few hamadryads.”
“Are you poisonous?” Knox asked.
“My bite can kill,” Samba said. “We all have our ways to survive.”
“Any tips on crossing the Sentient Wood?” Patton asked.
“Show no weapons that could harm trees,” Samba said. “Hide axes or hatchets for sure.”
“What about beavers?” Babak asked.
“We keep the beavers and woodpeckers far from view of the Sentient Wood,” Samba said. “Out of respect for our neighbors, no trees are felled in this part of the Protectorate. No wood is burned.”
Patton remounted Captain. “We’ll treat the Sentient Wood with respect.”
“Do whatever you wish,” the boomslang said. “What is it to me? However, if you can scare some small game in my direction, the kind who do not speak, I would be most obliged.”
“Some of us do not eat other animals,” Charlemagne said.
“How you get so large eating hay is a mystery the universe may never unravel,” the boomslang said. “Do not act superior for consuming weeds. What cunning does that require?”
“You know better than to cross words with a serpent,” Captain said. “Don’t keep arguing or we’ll be here all day.”
“Yes,” the boomslang said. “Why think? Why engage? Better to mindlessly trot off where your riders direct you.”
“We have a purpose in—” Charlemagne began.
“Don’t,” Captain cut her off. “All day.”
Captain led the group through the iron gate and into the large tunnel. The way was wide enough for them to ride two by two. After they were all through, Patton dismounted again and closed the gate.
“Hay is
not a weed,” Charlemagne grumbled. “Neither are oats. Or carrots.”
Seth could sit tall in his saddle as the earthy tunnel slanted downward. Here and there Patton had to crouch a little. The soil around them smelled freshly dug, but Seth supposed that was not likely. Before they had gone far, the tunnel leveled out. Tanu switched on a flashlight. They continued underground much longer than Seth had expected.
“Camels do not belong underground,” Babak said after some time.
“Neither do horses,” Captain replied. “But we do what we must in emergencies. Be grateful the passage accommodates us.”
“Rabbits quite like it below ground,” Thistleton said. “But this tunnel is not very cozy.”
Eventually the tunnel began to slant upward, and daylight came into view ahead. Tanu switched off his flashlight as the tunnel ended at a gate manned by a wooden figure exquisitely carved to resemble a bearded gentleman. The wooden man held up a hand, and they all stopped.
“Greetings,” Patton said, waving. “I have returned with my friends.” He gestured at the others, then motioned toward the gate and walked the fingers of one hand across the palm of the other. “You granted permission earlier for us to cross the Sentient Wood on our way to the Bewilderness.”
The wooden gentleman gave a nod and opened the gate, standing aside to let them pass. Seth stared at the wooden man as he rode by, and the man appeared to stare back.
“Do they talk?” Knox asked. “The wooden people?”
“I have never heard them speak,” Patton said. “Nor the trees. I’m not sure how well they hear, either. Pantomime seems to help them understand.”
Seth rode forward into the noonday twilight of a forest full of tall trees, none of them crowded together but rather spaced just right for their branches to block out all but a few patches of sky. The variety of trees struck Seth: towering conifers with deep grooves in the bark; mighty oaks with twisty, sprawling branches; bushy cypresses; maples with their broad, shapely leaves; the fat trunks of banyans with rambling roots; and various tropical trees that looked like they belonged in a steamy jungle.
No undergrowth obscured the ground between the trunks. The road ahead was discernible only because it was the sole line of sight that did not end with a tree.
“I feel like we’re being watched,” Kendra said as they followed Patton forward.
“Maybe not watched,” Patton said. “But definitely noticed.”
“How can you tell the trees are smart?” Knox asked. “They just look like trees.”
“Well, anything made from their wood comes to life,” Patton said.
“That’s where the wooden people come from?” Seth asked.
“Exactly,” Patton said. “The wooden henchmen are controlled by the trees. They act on behalf of their masters.”
“Who made the first wooden person?” Seth asked.
“I don’t know,” Patton said. “My guess would be a dryad or a hamadryad. Now the woodlings make each other, according to the desires of the forest.”
“They must have axes,” Knox said.
“I suspect they have some tools,” Patton said. “But let’s not discuss it anymore right now. I’m getting the feeling that we’re being too noisy.”
“There is a hush,” Charlemagne said in a quiet voice. “No animal sounds.”
As they fell silent, Seth could not help sensing the unusual stillness around him. He kept wanting to glance around to see who was spying on him. He felt observed from all directions. But wherever he looked, it was just more trees.
At first, only the footfalls of their mounts disturbed the silence. As they advanced, the more Seth paid attention, the more he noticed strange creaks and groans issuing from the trees, branches shifting or swaying with no discernible wind. There was a way trees normally sounded in a breeze, and this was different. The forest seemed to murmur.
“Over there,” Kendra whispered.
“Woodlings,” Patton said.
Off to the right, Seth saw a huge barrel with legs walking along with two wooden figures. The figures were humanoid but not carved in detail like the bearded man at the gate. As Seth watched, the barrel paused, and one woodling turned a spigot in the side of the barrel to fill a bucket. The other figure knelt by a knobby tree with a trowel, carefully digging near a root. The figure with the bucket went and started pouring water near a tall elm.
As they progressed through the woods, Seth caught sight of other woodlings ranging between three and eight feet in height. Some appeared to be weeding. Others were caring for the trees directly.
They paused at one point as Patton looked around. “I don’t want to lose the path,” he muttered softly. “This appears to be a crossroads.”
“How can you tell?” Knox asked.
“I see a couple of directions in which the way is devoid of trees,” Patton said. “These paths do not curve much.”
“What’s the problem?” Knox asked.
“We have been generally heading north, which is the direction we desire,” Patton said. “The pathways here appear to run only east, west, and back south, the way we came.”
“Flip a coin?” Seth asked.
“West veers gently north,” Patton said. “We’ll try that way and hope for the best.”
“I’m thirsty,” Babak said.
Seth looked back at him.
“Kidding,” Babak said. “Camel humor.”
They went a good distance before Patton stopped again. “This time we can go directly north again.”
They had not gone far before an enormous wooden figure came into view. Astride his horse, Seth came slightly higher than the waist of the wooden giant. It looked sturdily built, though the face and carved details were rather primitive. It held up a crooked hand for them to stop.
“We’re here with permission,” Patton said, accompanying his words with hand signals. “Just passing through. Treading lightly.”
The giant pointed off to one side and motioned for them to come.
“We’re going north,” Patton said, indicating the way ahead.
The giant shook its head and pointed off to the side once more.
Patton looked back at the others. “It appears we’re heading east for now.” He gestured to the east and said, “Lead on.”
The wooden giant began plodding forward. The way twisted and turned, making Seth wonder if this was a path or if the giant was simply improvising a route among the trees. Seth began to notice an increasing number of woodlings. For the first time, the woodlings were noticing them as well. As Seth and the little caravan of riders went by, the wooden figures would come in their direction and follow behind.
“They’re following us,” Knox quietly said out of the side of his mouth.
“Are we in trouble?” Kendra wondered.
“We’ll sort it out,” Patton said.
Seth kept glancing back. A dozen woodlings expanded to a score. Most were humanoid figures, but a few walking barrels joined the parade as well.
Up ahead, the giant led them into a clearing. A single enormous oak tree awaited, the trunk rivaling a sequoia, contorted branches spreading across lofty heights. A mob of woodlings surrounded it, tall and stumpy, intricate and plain, though none were as large as the giant guide.
“What is going on?” Seth mumbled.
The giant brought the group to a halt not far from the base of the tree. Woodlings crowded around them. Seth hoped that if things went bad, they could make a run for it. A fight would probably not end well.
A tall, slender woman came around from the far side of the tree, her gown an artful collage of green leaves, her shawl a masterpiece of silken spiderwebs. In her bare feet she stood almost as tall as Patton on his horse.
“Are you the hamadryad of this tree?” Kendra asked.
The woman smiled as if to confirm the guess. Then she looked at the woodlings and motioned them away. “Give our visitors some space,” she said in a soothing voice.
“She should play basketball
,” Knox murmured.
“Seldom do visitors cross our land,” the hamadryad said. “I am Eldanore, a servant of this grove. Your courtesy has been appreciated. We ask of you a favor.”
“I bet she could dunk without jumping,” Knox muttered.
Seth motioned for his cousin to zip it.
“How can we be of service?” Patton asked.
“Woods like ours have dwindled,” Eldanore said. “Pray, take these seeds and plant them where they might thrive.”
She held out to Patton a bowl made of stone. “Oak, redwood, and banyan,” he said.
“Not together,” she advised. “Far from here. Some of the elders worry that our enclosed populations pose a threat to ruminating forests. A single disaster could eradicate so many.”
“It would be our pleasure,” Patton said.
“You come from a tree,” Eldanore observed.
“Indeed I do,” Patton replied. “I took human form for a brief while.”
“You chose an excellent human,” Eldanore said. “Safe journey.”
“Might I ask, what is the best route to the Bewilderness from here?” Patton inquired.
“Yimo will show you the most direct way,” Eldanore said, motioning toward a nearby woodling with a stubby body and legs so long they looked like stilts. “Go in peace.”
Patton looked back at Seth and the others. “Follow me.”
Yimo started walking fast enough that the horses needed to trot to keep up. Seth stole several backward glances at the mob of woodlings and the colossal oak. None of the wooden figures followed them.
As when they had followed the giant, their way through the woods did not seem like a path. The horses stayed at a trot, meaning they made more noise than earlier. They traveled a long distance in silence before Knox spoke. “I don’t see any more woodlings.”
“There’s Yimo,” Seth pointed out.
“Besides Yimo,” Knox said.
“Maybe they’re all back with the hamadryad,” Kendra said.
“Or working in a different part of the forest,” Seth guessed.
“The trees are louder here,” Tanu said. “Might be a reflection of us.”
Seth looked and listened. The trees did sound creakier. He noticed a particular banyan with many aerial roots drooping down from convoluted branches where shadows seemed to gather thicker than elsewhere. He felt malevolence as he studied it, and it took an effort to look away.