by Dave Hazel
“Yeah, trying to tell someone about that knife attack would be a hard story to explain, but put that with all the crazy things we found,” Mykal chuckled at the thought of Boris trying to avoid a knife that had no wielder to control the weapon. “Would you believe it if someone explained something like that to you?” Amused at Boris’s bizarre magical misfortune changed his mood and made him feel better. He was glad he had close friends with him so he could laugh about some of the strange encounters they experienced.
“Hell no. I’d think they’re nuts,” Boris laughed quietly. “But are you gonna give me some magic to play with like Jake?”
“I’ll give you something, but only if you promise me something in return. I made Jake promise me something too.”
“Sure, whatever you want. I just want some magic.”
“You gotta promise me that you won’t show it off. You gotta gimme your word that you’ll only use it when it’s absolutely needed, okay? Cuz here in Towbar’s world they take this magic stuff seriously. Towbar’s people are all terrified of magic cuz that Zizmon-Tarl dude will kill anyone with magic. And I don’t know if there are gonna be consequences for us using this magic stuff. Plus,” he drew closer and looked to make sure no one was listening. “I don’t know if anyone would try to take it from us at a later time. Do you know what I’m saying?”
“Oh yeah, I dare anyone to--”
“Stop!” Mykal cut him off with a harsh whisper and held his hand up. “Don’t say anything.”
“Alright Myk. I know what you’re getting at. Now, whatta ya gonna give me?” He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
“A magic wand.”
“Great, what does it do?”
“It changes people and things like animals into harmless creatures like bugs, birds and small rodents.”
“Are you kiddin me?” Boris questioned his sincerity.
“I know it sounds silly, but it’s real and I’m serious about keeping it quiet. It’s not a toy. And don’t be using it on William because I don’t know how long it lasts and I don’t know what the after affects will be. Use it only if you need to.”
“I promise. I give you my word,” Boris eagerly took the slender rod from Mykal’s hand. “How do you turn it on?” He kidded as he looked it over. “How do you make it work?”
“You point it and yell the command word ‘Fordess’, and at the same time you think of the creature you want to turn your victim into, and poof,” Mykal said and flicked his hands open to demonstrate a magical occurrence.
“You’re not jerking me around, are you?” Boris tried not to laugh. “I don’t want you pulling a joke on me.”
“No. I’m not. It’s as simple as that. And like I said keep this a secret until we really need to use it.”
“Awh man, I can’t wait to use it,” Boris smirked with a wicked expression. “Can’t we turn one of our guys into a bird so he could go to the tops of the trees and see where we are?”
“Well, I thought about that,” Mykal said and frowned. “But I’m not sure it would be a good idea. I don’t know if he would have a regular bird brain. What if he forgets what he is supposed to do and flies away? Or what happens if he’s flying high and then turns back to a human? I’d be afraid of trying anything like that only because we don’t know what will happen. Let’s wait until we can experiment with it.”
“Yeah, I have to wait,” Boris pretended to pout and put the slender rod inside his camouflage shirt and stuck it into his waist band so others wouldn’t ask him about it. “Hey, do you remember when we first got lost and when we first met Towbar and he talked to us about magic? And it was Kurt or Larry who asked can you turn someone into a frog or something? He gave us that really strange look and said ‘I don’t know why anyone would want to do such a thing’. Well, now we can actually do that. Wouldn’t it be great if we get back to Towbar and can show him this?” Boris laughed.
Mykal agreed with Boris, but mentioning Towbar, Kurt and Larry made Mykal feel a deeper sadness. It felt more real that they would possibly never return to the Pass or home.
After another forty-five minutes they were halted by the cries of the point man. “Help! Help! Lieutenant Finley, Captain Diaz, Mykal help. Come quickly, anyone,” the point man yelled desperately. “Anyone! Hurry! Look what I got,” he added with an uncertain excitement.
Most of the men took up defensive positions while Mykal, Boris, Jake, Diaz and Finley ran to Sergeant Freeman’s voice at the front of their winding trail. Expecting the worse, it stunned Mykal when the black Green Beret came into view. Freeman stood face to face with another person.
Freeman pointed his M-16 rifle into the stranger’s face. The stranger, armed with a bow and arrow pointed his arrow into Freeman’s face. They were not sure what to classify the stranger as. His fair complexion was almost paper white. His long blonde hair was almost white as well. His pointy ears struck through his long baby fine hair. The stranger stood about 5’6” with a slender build. His pale blue eyes stared into the barrel of the rifle. It was clear the stranger felt uncertain of the object’s capabilities.
“Whatta I do Cap’n?” Freeman cried out. “If I shoot him I gets an arrow in my face.”
“Calm down Freeman,” Captain Diaz advised since the stranger didn’t shoot. “We’ll try to communicate with him.”
Mykal cautiously approached the standoff. “Don’t kill him Freeman,” Mykal said calmly. “Maybe he can help us,” he added and slowly moved closer with his open palms out before in the hopes the stranger wouldn’t view him as a threat. Mykal saw pointed ears protruding from the thin baby-fine hair.
“What is he Myk?” Boris asked. “He reminds me of Spock on Star Trek. Is he a Vulcan?”
“No. That’s TV,” Mykal said and he had the sudden urge to burst out with laughter during the potentially dangerous encounter. The stress of the situation coupled with Boris’s naive suggestion the person to be a fictitious Vulcan character from the TV show Star Trek made him want to laugh. “From all the stuff Towbar told us, I really think this is what Towbar called an Elf,” Mykal answered and slowly stepped closer. “I don’t know if he can understand me,” Mykal said and raised his hands higher to show he had nothing to threaten him with. “But Freeman, I don’t want you to be afraid. I want you to trust what I say and lower your rifle.”
“What?” Freeman gasped. “What if he shoots me?”
“Just trust me,” Mykal requested.
“If he wanted to shoot you he would have done so already,” Diaz replied in a commanding tone.
“I’m not sure if he understands us, but I wanna show him we don’t mean him any harm,” Mykal said as he placed his hand on Freeman’s barrel and slowly guided it downward. The pointy eared stranger caught sight of several other rifles pointed at him.
“Yo man, do you understand English?” Freeman asked and didn’t resist as Mykal pushed his rifle down against his desires.
“English? What is English?” The stranger’s voice sounded soft and musical.
“He speaks English,” Freeman laughed happily and allowed Mykal to push his weapon downward all the way. “Yo man, could you please not point that thang in my face? Please?” He nodded at the arrow.
“What is English?” The stranger asked again. He lowered the point of his arrow from Freeman’s face toward Freeman’s midsection, but kept a tight grip on the tension of his bow and arrow.
“It’s the language we speak,” Mykal answered, but the stranger wouldn’t take his eyes from the dark skin of Freeman. “But I guess it’s what you might call the common tongue.”
“Man, you speak our language pretty good too,” Freeman complimented the stranger, obviously trying to be overly friendly.
“Yes. I am speaking the common tongue,” the fair skin stranger explained. “I know not of this English you speak of. This is the language used by all.”
“I understand,” Mykal nodded to a slight bow. “We don’t want any trouble. We’re lost and we are seeking some he
lp.”
The stranger saw there were more than twenty of these foreigners spread throughout the trees. “I believe you speak the truth,” he said and stared intently into Mykal’s eyes. He eased up the tension of his bow and arrow.
“Whew, that scared the stuffin’s outta me. If’n you knows what I means,” Freeman sighed and shook his head. He slowly took a seat against a tree. His hands trembled visibly. “I gots ta check my drawers. I ain’ts never had a bow and arrow stuck in my face before.”
“What’s your name? What can we call you?” Mykal asked politely as Diaz stepped closer.
“I am known as Starling.” He dipped his head as a form of welcoming them, but never took his eyes from them. “And you are?”
“I am Mykal and this is Captain Diaz. We’re the leaders. And to be honest I don’t know where to begin. We’re trying to get out of this forest. We’re lost,” he admitted and hoped he didn’t give away too much information.
“Where do you wish to go?” Starling asked softly.
“Anywhere as long as we get outta this damn forest,” Boris joked when he, Jake and Finley stepped closer.
“These are my good friends Boris, Jake and Lieutenant Finley,” Mykal introduced them and saw William and others moving closer.
“Why are you here if this is not where you wish to be?” Starling asked.
“We were being chased,” Mykal said. He took a chance and hoped Starling wasn’t a part of, or in allegiance with, the army they avoided. “We came into the forest to avoid those who were searching for us. We’ve been in this forest for five days now and we’ve had nothing but trouble since we’ve been here.”
“You are strangers to the Black Forest?”
“Yes, we’ve never been here before,” Diaz answered.
“This forest is called the Black Forest. It is also known as the Forest of Death.”
“I believe that,” Diaz said. The corner of his lips formed a sad frown. “We’ve lost a few men since we’ve been here.”
“If you lost but a few men, you have done well,” Starling said. “Entire armies have been lost to the Black Forest.”
“If this forest is that bad and you know all about it, then why are you here?” Boris asked with a glare of distrust.
“My people are forest dwelling people. The Black Forest is a dangerous place, however it does not pose the same threats or dangers to me as it would to one who is a visitor,” Starling explained. His words were musical and endearing. “I would be alerted to threats differently than say--”
“But why are you here?” Boris interrupted and pointed to the ground referring to the Black Forest.
“I too am on the run. I too entered the Forest of Death to avoid pursuit.”
“So we’re in the same boat,” Mykal said.
“I do not understand your meaning. There is no water near here and there are no boats in the forest.”
Mykal and the others laughed together while Starling gave them a strange look. “It’s just a saying we have that means we’re in the same type of situation,” Mykal said and smiled at the serious expression of Starling.
“I, and a handful of others, was being pursued by several hundred soldiers. I advised my human friends to enter the Black Forest. However, due to the merited reputation of this forest, they refused.”
“What did you mean by your ‘human friends’?” Lieutenant Finley cross-examined using finger quotations. “Are you not human?”
“I am an Elf,” Starling declared proudly with his soft musical voice. “I fear my friends may die before the day is over. Our foe will not end the chase until they kill us.”
“Why are they after you?” Jake asked. “If you don’t mind me asking you.”
“They are evil humans,” Starling declared.
“That’s it? Just because they’re evil?” Diaz challenged him. “You didn’t do anything to provoke them?”
“They will kill me on sight because I am an Elf. They will kill me because of my skin.”
“I hear ya homey,” Freeman smirked and raised his black power fist. “Where we’re from, we have a problem cuz of our skin color, especially in some of the southern states,” he said and high fived Gorman who sat beside him.
“Word up,” Sergeant Gorman agreed and raised his black fist. “Sorry Sir, we was just being funny,” he said when Diaz and Finley shot unfavorable glares at him.
“Their supreme ruler hates Elves,” Starling said and looked at their faces to detect a response.
“Would their supreme ruler be someone called Zizmon-Tarl?” Boris asked.
“Do you know him?” Starling tightened his grip on his bow and arrow when he turned to Boris’s question.
“No, not at all,” Mykal answered for Boris. “We think he’s after us too. I’ll tell you what. It sounds like we have the same enemy,” Mykal’s tone changed to one of excitement. “Can you get us to your men before they get killed?”
“That is possible. Why do you ask?”
“I think we can save them before they get killed. And right now, we need all the friends and all the help we can get. I’ll be more than willing to help you for some help in return.”
“Do you have an army hidden in the forest?”
“No, this is about it,” Mykal replied with a confident smirk. He knew Starling doubted their strength to defeat such a large army. “We have a few more that you can’t see.”
“My friends are being pursued by several hundred, possibly a thousand well trained warriors under the flag of Zizmon-Tarl. How would you stand against that? Warriors under Zizmon-Tarl are some of the fiercest and cruelest warriors alive.”
“I know we don’t look it, but we’re some pretty fierce warriors too,” Mykal laughed and knew it was hard to be taken seriously by Starling. “Trust me it’s a long story, but we can talk about it on the way.”
“Even if it were possible, why would you attempt to rescue my friends?” Starling asked suspiciously.
“Because we need help. If we help you, I’m hoping you would in turn help us. I’m sure we could save your friends if we get there. How long will it take to get to them?”
“It would take a quarter of a day on a hard march through the forest in that direction,” he pointed.
“Are you saying we could be out of the forest in a few hours?” William asked.
“How do I know you are not setting a trap for my friends and myself?”
“To be honest Starling, you don’t,” Mykal admitted. “You don’t know us from Joe Blow down the street, but from what you told me it will only be a matter of time before your friends are dead. It honestly wouldn’t matter to us if you took us to them or not. What I want to do is try to earn your trust and friendship because we’re lost and we need help. I know we can help you and your friends,” he said emphatically. “So I’m hoping in return you’ll help us,” he repeated to make clear his motivation. “I’m asking you to trust me cuz we’re anxious to get outta this forest and we would desperately like to have some people on our side who can help us. It sounds like we have the same enemy so let’s work together. You’ll be impressed by what we can do.”
“Trust them Starling,” another soft musical voice called out from higher in the trees. Another Elf made his way down the tree. His skill at descending the tree appeared monkey like.
“We must be swift,” a third said, his soft musical tone seemed to float down as he descended another tree in a similar fashion.
“What the hell is this?” Boris quickly turned his rifle to the surprise.
“We were in the process of hiding when you stumbled upon us,” Starling explained. “I happened to be the slow one. It appears to be fortunate that you caught me before joining my two friends into the trees. This is Blair and this is Leeno.”
“Alright, it’s nice to meet you guys, I’m Mykal,” he nodded and had difficulty telling them apart. All three wore light chain mail armor and carried bow and arrows with a sword strapped to their side. Mykal allowed some of the men
to introduce themselves to the visitors. While introductions took place Mykal contemplated telling them of the skeletons they found. Mykal was sure the one who he couldn’t take the sword from was an Elf. He was confident they would be appreciative if he led them to the magic sword, but then wondered if it would create an issue since he took magic items from the other dead. (From the end of Book 2: Mykal’s Return). He decided to keep the information to himself.
“We gotta get going,” Mykal said. “But I’d like to ask you a question first.”
“Yes, we will try to answer your question,” Leeno replied with a friendly smile.
“Since we have been lost in this Forest of Death we have come across a lot of weird stuff. Strange creatures and monsters,” Mykal explained. “But not far from here we came across something that looked like it could have been a trap. Did youse set up that trap?”
“Trap? No,” Blair answered.
“We just entered the Black Forest a short time ago to avoid being pursued,” Starling added.
“What manner of trap was it?’ Leeno asked.
“We don’t really know but it looked like someone used shark teeth in a strange way.”
“Shark teeth? What is a shark?” Starling asked.
“It’s a man eating monster of the ocean,” Boris said. “The teeth were this big,” he added and used his hands to demonstrate how large the teeth were. “There had to be well over a hundred of these teeth.”
“Yeah, it was such an odd looking trap if that’s what it was supposed to be,” Mykal said.
“We are not close to the oceans in any direction,” Starling replied.
“The nearest lake would be two days travel from here,” Blair said.
“There are a couple of rivers that would take a day to travel to from here,” Leeno added. “Could it be something other than what you know as a shark?”
“We have never heard of shark,” Blair said. “Unless it is something we know by another name,” he added and the continuous discussion from the Elves sounded light and musical, soft and friendly.