The Fossegrimen Folly

by Michael Almich

  Shy exchanged a glance with Daniel. This was bad. They would have trouble getting away from Gust. He was like a wily old trapper that could track them even if they did escape his sight. It was going down just like Shy had worried. How would they ever get to the waterfall and fossegrimen now?

  ***

  After more discussion, none of which included the boys' opinions, they set out to the forest cabins. Gust was striding out in front of the boys, and Tad followed behind. The entire trip was very light on conversation. Shy asked one question, and got one answer, and that was all that was said.

  "Gust, were you following us tonight?"

  "No, I wasn't. I will from now on though. I simply came to check on you boys, which I was planning to do for all of the groups. Good thing I showed up when I did."

  ***

  They arrived at the Elevator, and with a nod and knowing look to Tad, Gust departed. Tad hauled the two boys up. As they walked from the Elevator platform to the Hive, Shy hung back and caught Daniel's attention.

  "Do we still want to do this?"

  "We have to. It's gonna be now or never. You're like the President now Shy. You're gonna have your own secret service agent." Daniel smiled for the first time since the incident.

  "How do we get away from Tad?"

  The question hung in the air as they continued to draw closer to the Hive. From there, Tad would no doubt take them to their cabins.

  "We have to find a way to make Tad think you went to bed." Daniel whispered.

  "Better think of something quick." Shy whispered back.

  Up ahead of them, Tad turned and asked with a half smile, "What are you two troublemakers whispering about?"

  "Just talking about what happened. Daniel still isn't feeling right in the stomach."

  They arrived at the platform that was connected to the Unicorn Horn, the spiral stairwell. Shy knew the other boys must be watching from their hidden position inside the stairwell. They could try to make a break for it, but Tad would inevitably follow, and probably Gust also. Daniel made some hand gestures to the other boys, indicating that they should sit tight and wait.

  "You two wait here, I am going to gather up the rest of the boys from in there," He indicated the Hive with a nod of his head.

  They both nodded. The moment he was gone, Daniel whispered, "Be right back!"

  He ran to the hidden stairwell and stepped inside, leaving Shy wondering what was going on. Shy looked nervously back towards the Hive, wondering how soon Tad would step back out and ask where Daniel had gone. He could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead, against his sandy locks, even with the cool evening breeze in the treetops. Just then Daniel hopped out of the tree and ran back over to Shy.

  "Listen… they are gonna run and make it look like you are sleeping in your bed by stuffing clothes and things under your covers. I bet he will drop me off at my Cabin first, so I will go in and then follow you back to yours. Head right up to the Raven, and as he is about to follow you, I will catch up and ask him to stop. I will make up some excuse to slow him down for a minute. He might even insist on walking me back to my cabin. When that happens, yell down the stairs to him that you are going right to bed, but slip out the trapdoor. When he comes up, he will think you are sleeping, and just leave you alone…. OK?" He paused, out of breath after rattling off his plan.

  Just as he finished, Tad came back out from the Hive. As the counselor was walking across the small bridge created by the hinged section of the north wall of the Hive, Daniel whispered one more thing to Shy, "Meet us at the base of the Elevator."

  Tad walked up as Shy was trying to think through the rush of whispered instructions from Daniel. It was a plan that might work; he just had to get past feeling bad about tricking Tad. It was the only way, if they wanted a shot at the treasure.

  His thoughts were interrupted by Tad, who said, "Looks like they all went to bed. Let's get you two there also. We'll go the long way and drop Daniel off at the Eagle first."

  Shy just shrugged his shoulders, like it didn't matter to him, but he glanced at Daniel who nodded like he knew it all along. Daniel was already walking in the direction of the Eagle. They dropped him off there, and Tad watched him climb the rope all the way up into the cabin.

  Upon Daniel disappearing into the cabin, Tad immediately started them on toward the Raven. He slowed as they passed over the Cardinal cabin. He seemed to be listening for sounds, but there was none to be heard. Tad almost stopped. He looked like he was going to yell something to Sawyer and Finn, who he thought were in the cabin below. He must of thought better of it, because he pulled back and continued on. Shy wondered how he was going to get ahead of Tad. There was no way to really pass him on the narrow walkways and bridges.

  Shy decided to try a little acting. He yawned loudly a couple minutes apart.

  Tad looked back at him and said, "I bet you are tired, we have had a big couple of days."

  "Yeah, I am."

  As they approached the platform at the base of the stairs to the Raven, Shy heard a yell in the distance behind them. As Tad turned, Shy continued on, climbing the steps two at a time. Daniel hollered again, and Tad took a few steps back towards Daniel.

  "Tad, I'm going to bed," Shy shouted down with another exaggerated yawn.

  "OK, I need to see what Daniel needs."

  Shy hurried into the cabin, and immediately went over to his bed. It did indeed look like someone his size was sleeping there, facing the black mesh screen wall, with the sleeping bag pulled up to cover the head. Shy then rushed over to the nearby screen wall, where he could see a bit of the stairwell. He could hear voices through the screens. Daniel's agitated voice and Tad's calm soothing one answering.

  Soon, Tad yelled up, "Shy I am walking Daniel back to the Eagle. I'll be up in a few."

  "OK, I'm going to sleep." Shy returned into the darkness.

  He counted to sixty, and then hustled to the trap door. He flung himself out onto the cargo net, and quickly scrambled to the nearby platform. The moon was bright and full. His senses were on fire. Everywhere he thought he saw movement in the moonlight, and thought he heard noises drifting on the breeze. He quickly tried to block out what he assumed was his imagination. He worked his way back to the Unicorn Horn, but followed a different route than the one that ran by the other cabins. Without pause, he entered the spiral staircase, and scrambled downward. He was moving so quickly, he could not stop himself when he heard the frantic yell, "STOP!"

  He crashed into Tom T and they both tumbled the final two steps out onto the ground. The nisse growled, jumped up and hopped back into hiding inside the Glamour protected confines of the staircase. Shy, whose heart was already beating fast, also jumped up quickly. He started to run off, but his guilt at running into the creature that had thus far been relatively kind to him, made him pause. He turned back to the image of the tree, and then decided to check on the nisse.

  He stepped back onto the staircase, and found Tom T just several steps up, looking at Shy from eye level, in the moonlit shadows.

  "I'm sorry," Shy started, but he stopped as soon as he saw the grimace on the nisse's hairy face, and heard the soft growl that came from deep in his throat. Shy instantly remembered that Tad had said they should never apologize to the creatures. Thinking quickly, he pulled out what was left of the energy bar he had from earlier that evening. He set it on the stair next to the nisse.

  Tom T hesitated. He looked at the bar several times, but finally ignored it and looked back to Shy.

  "Beware. They know of you. Your sight. Your plans. Beware."

  Shy was surprised, and instantly defensive. "What plans?" He asked.

  Again the deep throated growl. "Do not attempt to deceive. I know. They know. I cannot protect you out there. Your sight, they fear. You see the Glamour. You penetrate. Many fear. Some do not. I do not. Many do. Beware!"

  With the final word of warning, the nisse grabbed the energy bar and ran up the stairs so quickly that it was almost a blur to Sh
y. He was left in shock.

  Shy turned, but before stepping out into the night, he paused. The nisse's warning made him look around outside the Glamour enshrouded staircase. Several thoughts ran through his head. Were the noises and movements he attributed to his imagination really his imagination? Should he stay hidden? Did the Glamour even hide him from other fairy creatures? Or could they see through it? They probably could see through it, he decided. They were probably watching him right now. He looked around again. Shafts of moonlight shot through the trees. The forest was dim, but he could easily make out the path he wanted. It would take him to the Sentinel, and beneath the Elevator, where the other boys would be waiting. Gathering his courage he stepped off the staircase and moved swiftly off in that direction.

  As he moved through the pines, he tried to stay quiet. Eventually he slowed to a fast walk because running was noisy, and he wanted to quiet his breathing. As he did so, he thought he could hear something behind him, in the distance. In the moonlight, with the shadows playing tricks on him, he could feel some panic begin to creep up from his stomach. He was now sure he could hear faint footsteps behind him. As he dodged a root sticking up from the ground, he worried that something was truly after him. He picked up his pace again. No sense in being quiet if something was already after him. Quickly his pace turned into a full-fledged run. He heard a whisper emanate from the dimness behind him.

  "SHY!" Came a hoarse, whispery voice.

  He wasn't going to make it to the Sentinel in time. He could hear the footsteps clearly now, pounding through the pine needle covered path. He dodged off the trail next to a giant boulder that was between two pines.

  The footsteps slowed, and the whispered voice came from the darkness again, "Shy!" Then, "It's Daniel."

  Shy popped his head around the boulder. Seeing his buddy, he felt his face flush red with embarrassment. Good thing it was too dark for Daniel to see it. He walked back out onto the path.

  "Man, you are getting faster!" Daniel puffed with his hands on his knees.

  "I was scared…. Sorry…. Hey, wait 'till you hear this…" Shy went on to tell Daniel how Tom T had warned him after their collision in the Unicorn Horn.

  He completed the tale just as they reached the base of the Sentinel. The other boys were waiting as planned. After some griping about how long they had waited, mostly by the high energy duo of Sawyer and Finn, they set off.

  "Shy, you had better tell them." Daniel said.

  So, though he was impatient to get going, Shy related the conversation with the nisse a second time. The boys looked at each other, searching each other's eyes for any hint of those who did not want to go. Shy saw hesitation and nervousness in Ralph's face, as he darted glances at the other boys. Shy didn't want him to feel bad, but after his conversation with Ralph the previous day, he knew he did not want to go. An idea popped into Shy's head.

  "Ralph, I know you want to go, but we need someone to stay here, in case something happens. You could wait for us at the top of the Sentinel here," Shy patted the sturdy tree that held the Elevator, "and if we are not back in a set time, you could go wake Tad."

  Ralph looked at Shy, and almost instantly grabbed onto the idea. "Yeah, I suppose I could do that. How long before I should wake him?" He asked, looking down at the luminous hands of Gust's watch that remained on Shy's arm.

  No one answered immediately, so as usual, Daniel's leadership instincts kicked in, and he spoke up. He grabbed Shy's arm and looked at the watch, then instructed, "I say two hours. It's 10:30 p.m. now, so if we are not back by 12:30, go wake him up. You can tell him we went night hiking down by the falls. Definitely don't mention the treasure… OK?"

  Ralph nodded, and Sam untied the rope for the Elevator, and Ralph climbed on. Once they got Ralph safely up to his perch, they set out towards the river gorge path, from which they would reach the path that Shy had taken down to the waterfall.

  They walked in silence, heads on a swivel. The nighttime forest noises took on new meaning to the troop of boys as they filed down the path. Even the simple hoot of a Great Gray Owl took on an ominous note. Shy felt like the owl was following them, and hooting out a warning, or an alert. By the time that they reached the path that rimmed the river gorge, Shy was ready to strangle the owl. He felt like the forest was stirring awake again, that the owl was calling all creatures to come and protect the treasure. He tried to spot it in the trees, but couldn't. In the process, though, he did see a light in the distance. It was bobbing in the same way he had seen from the Hive, at the beginning of their stay. It was up the hillside from their position and bobbed in and out of the trees. The boys bumped into one another behind him, and Shy realized he had come to a stop on the path. They turned to squint in the direction Shy was staring.

  "There." Shy pointed Daniel in the direction of the light. "Can you see that?"

  "What?" The taller boy strained.

  "What are we looking for Shy?" Henry added.

  "That light, up the hill, in the trees…. Do you see it? It's right there."

  Search as they might, the other boys could not see anything. They looked at Shy, and then back up the hillside, as he followed its movement.

  "I feel like it is the same light I saw last time…when I saw it from the Hive, and it might even be the same one that rescued me when I got chased."

  Again the boys looked at Shy and each other.

  "We just don't see it Shy. Maybe it's Glamour? Maybe we just can't see it." Henry said, and then added, "We believe you though."

  Shy looked at them, and once more at the light. "Come on." He said and turned northward, looking for the spur trail that would take them downward to the base of the waterfall.

  It didn't take long, and soon they were guiding themselves down a path that was slick with dew and damp stone. Finally they reached the bottom and Shy turned to the other boys and exclaimed in a whisper, "This isn't gonna work, we forgot a treat to give to the fossegrimen!"

  The moon created an eerie shadow across Finn's face as he unslung his backpack and held it up.

  "I have a roast beef sandwich aaaaannnnd a cookie." Finn said.

  Shy breathed a sigh of relief. It would have been such a waste to go through all of this work and have forgotten a key step in getting to the treasure.

  "Is this it, Shy? Is this the place?" Daniel said in a voice loud enough to hear over the waterfall.

  Shy looked around at the cliffs and nearby rock walls. It seemed like the spot, but he couldn't be completely sure. It had been darker last time, with less moonlight. He thought he could see the spot where the hidden indention in the cliff had been. In fact, he walked over to the spot where the fossegrimen had sat on his rickety old stool. The area wasn't hidden now though. There was no Glamour that Shy could see.

  "He was here. He sat right here." Shy pointed to a spot up against the rock wall. "It's gone… the Glamour is gone." Shy could see the other boys look at each other and then look away. He felt horrible. All this work… for nothing. He could tell that no matter what they said, doubt had taken over. They didn't believe him any longer, if they ever did. He felt disappointment and depression begin to set in. Then he saw Daniel. The tall boy was staring at him.

  "What?" Shy asked, suddenly angry.

  "I know it's here somewhere. He must have moved. Look around Shy. We are not quitting. I believe you. He must have moved. Let's walk around and look." Daniel had a fierce look on his face, made fiercer by the moonlight.

  Shy turned and looked. The waterfall roared loudly in his ears. It was a big area, and they were not even in sight of the actual falls yet. He began to look at the walls as he moved further down the now flat path, towards the waterfall. As he rounded the corner to move within sight of the falls, he suddenly heard it. Music! A fiddle played soft and fast. What lay before him was an unreal sight. He could feel Daniel behind him, but all Shy could hear was the music. His sight was filled with the incredible scene.

  Small creatures danced around a fire to the musi
c of the fossegrimen, who sat against the cliff on his overwhelmed stool and played his nimble tune. The figures dancing next to the pool of the waterfall were tiny, no bigger than the calf of the oversized fossegrimen. They were thin and ever so light on their feet. They jumped and danced, and laughed in a way that sounded like tinkling bells. They appeared both male and female by the clothing they had on. Shy stared in awe at the sight. The fossegrimen shifted on his stool to look at Shy. He smiled, but continued to play.

  Shy felt Daniel move up against his left shoulder. He turned to look at the other boy, and could tell by the way Daniel's eyes roved over the scene, and then to the waterfall and beyond, that he could not see the party that was taking place in front of his eyes.

  "What do you see?" He whispered in Shy's ear.

  "It's him… the fossegrimen… and something more. They're dancing, having a party… around a fire"

  Daniel turned to lock eyes with Shy. Shy could see his belief waning. He turned back in time to see the creatures had stopped dancing. Many were drifting off into the shadows.

  "Noooo…." Shy said out loud as he reached out a hand toward them.

  The fossegrimen raised an eyebrow at Shy, but continued to play. The last of the tiny creatures were kicking sand on the fire, and it quickly dwindled. Only two remained. They turned to face Shy and then bowed simultaneously. Turning to each other, they giggled, a tinkling of tiny crystal bells, and flitted off into the dark. Finally, the fossegrimen lowered his fiddle.

  "Oh, ho! You are back! I see, I know," He rumbled. "You have a request, a need. Yet I see danger for you, I do."

  Shy elbowed Daniel. "Get the bag… NOW!" He whispered urgently.

  Daniel gave him one look, and seeing the stress in his face, ran off to find Finn.

  "Why can only I see you?" Shy got the courage to ask as he turned back to face the fossegrimen..

  "Hooo… Haaa!" The rumble of his belly laugh mixed into the roar of the waterfall, off to their left. "Is that why you have returned to see me? It is not. I know, I see." He followed this with another round of deep laughter. His gaze then shifted from Shy.