Chapter Twelve
City of Dreams
Darrellik seemed pleasant. He spoke to them kindly and answered their questions openly enough. He refused to elaborate on things, like where the city was located. They had been walking around for the better part of an hour and Alex was certain that they had circled back around not far from where they started.
She supposed it was his job to ensure that no one could find them easily, but roaming around in the thick trees was getting tiring. The forest was awakening around them. It was as if the night had absorbed all the sound and silence filled the air. Now with morning just behind the tree line, birds chirped and squirrels scurried along the branches.
The little relief that the night gave from the heat would soon end. The shade of the trees would help, but she could already smell the moisture in the air. Alex did not mind the humidity in fact it invigorated her. The others, however, didn’t feel the same and had no problem complaining.
She watched Darrellik as he walked in front of her. His body moved in a way that would have been difficult to explain if she had not seen it for herself. He was agile like a cat, moving swiftly. Yet at the same time, his long steps seemed slow and calculated, like that of a large animal. He rather bobbed his head up and down with each step forward.
He looked like an awkward walking tree trunk; it was a tad funny to watch. She stifled a giggle avoiding any questions or chides from Evangeline about being rude. Finally, they reached a small clearing. It was perfectly round and bare. Nothing grew in the circle, not even grass. Alex shifted her feet and a cloud of dust floated up around her ankles.
“Wait here.” Darrellik said and disappeared into the trees before anyone could respond.
After what seemed an eternity, a group of seven guards entered the clearing with Darrellik in the lead. She could tell that it made Ryhan and Evangeline nervous. Even Thad was shiftier than usual, but Alex trusted her intuition and she knew that the elves meant them no harm. When the guards were about three feet from them they stopped and parted, revealing a woman.
She stepped forward and looked at the four of them sternly. The lady elf was nothing like Darrellik. Alex was not sure how old she was, but she could tell that the woman would have been an elder among their people. Her chin length hair fell around her pale face and was almost completely grey with a few streaks of black here and there.
A long stiff green robe made out of moss covered her body. Markings covered the woman’s, though they were so faint Alex could not make out what they were. They were almost the same color as her brown skin but the iridescent lines shimmered a bit as the woman moved. It was beautiful and Alex longed to reach out and touch her face.
“I am Alta Abralle. I am the High Mother of the clans of Ferrentri. I understand you have traveled a long way, but I am sorry to inform you that Lillian is not here.” Alta said in a thick accent.
“Where is she?” Evangeline responded first.
Alta Abralle smiled warmly and replied, “She is on a hunt with some of the women from the clan of the Trusted Fox. They did not return when they were expected two nights ago.”
Alex asked concerned, “Did something happen to them?”
The woman furrowed her thin brows, “I do not know. I do not feel that they are in danger. The item they were seeking is very difficult to find. I think they may have had trouble locating it.”
“What was it?” Ryhan asked.
“A rare plant for a birthing ritual. It is custom for the clan who is expecting, to seek it out.” She responded then added, “I know you have many questions, but now is not the time. You look exhausted. We will open our city to you and be hospitable, but you must first complete a trust ritual.”
“What does it involve?” Alex asked.
“It is very simple. In exchange for shelter and admittance into our greatest and most secret city, you will give me a secret.” Alta said casually, as if she only asked for a blade of grass or fallen leaf.
However, Alex understood what it was she wanted. Not just a secret, but something deep inside that you would not dare breathe a word of to anyone. The thought sent a slight chill up her spine and she wondered what a woman like Alta could do with secrets like that. Alex hugged her arms to her chest and waited for Alta to explain further.
Someone, she was not sure who, asked how she would know if they were lying and Alta responded that they would not be able to. Alta pulled out four small vials, filled with a light green liquid. Alex listened intently as she explained what to do with them. When handed her vial she hesitated. She already knew what her secret was.
She never admitted it aloud to herself and was not sure if it was something that was worth knowing to someone else. For her, she had held on to it for as long as she could remember and she was afraid that people might look at her differently if they knew. Drinking the bitter liquid down was not the only bad part. There was barely a mouth full and the taste disappeared quickly.
It was the nauseating feeling afterward that was hard to bear. Dropping to her knees, she held her stomach tightly, feeling as though she were going to vomit up everything she had ever eaten in her whole life. Taking that as her cue, she held the vial up to her lips and waited. Silvery liquid began to seep back into the vial.
When finished, she felt perfectly fine, lighter even, as if that secret had been a huge weight on her shoulders. Feeling freer than she ever had, she handed the vial over with a smile. Alta winked at her and lifted the vial up to get a better look. She nodded at it slightly and tucked it away into her robe somewhere. Alex had thought it had taken a while for her to work her secret up, but the others seemed to be struggling with theirs.
“Are they okay?” She asked.
Alta responded, “Not everyone is as lucky as you Alexandra. Some secrets are unknown even to the person who harbors them for so long. They will come out of hiding. It will just take some time.”
Alex was not sure what she meant by lucky.
“Your secret won’t trouble you much longer. Soon you will find what you are looking for Alexandra. Even if you don’t know what it is yet.” Alta gave her a knowing smile.
She wanted to ask her to clarify, but Evangeline was the next to bring her vial forth. It looked much different, instead of a silvery liquid hers was a pale violet sand of some sort. Alta examined it and nodded her head slightly. Ryhan screamed out as if in pain and leaned over as if she were about to retch.
Alex watched as a dark gray liquid filled the vial and Ryhan heaved her chest several times before getting up to give it to Alta. Getting a closer look, the contents of Ryhan’s vial seemed to move and roll the way that storm clouds travel across the sky. Upon Alta’s examination, Alex was surprised when she pursed her lips and hesitantly put the vial away.
They waited for Thad; he had refused to drink his potion and was sitting glaring at them all.
“Your powers won’t work here kelpie, drink and be done with it.” Alta demanded.
Thad growled aloud and one of the elves poured the liquid in his mouth. Seconds later, he was spitting some black tar like substance back into the vial.
Alta looked at them all, breathed heavily, and said, “Great, now you can all sleep.”
The darkness overtook her immediately, Alex felt nothing, no pain, no joy, just complete emptiness, and the world went black. Alex woke peacefully, feeling refreshed and better than she had in days. She supposed she should have been angry about the sleeping spell, but she was in a room, sleeping in a bed and no harm had come to her.
Shrugging her shoulders to herself, she sprang out of bed and crossed the small room to find a door. There was not one. No windows either. She ran her hands along the wooden walls, searching for some sort of recess that might give access to a hidden door. Nothing. She told herself not to panic. Taking a few deep breaths, she cleared her mind and examined her surrounding more carefully.
She was in a round room. It could not have been more than fifteen feet across. There was a bed and small table with a single chai
r pushed in. A few stands lined the wall with various baskets and decorative items. On the table, there was a basket of food, some dried meat, and tubular vegetables.
Alex had already choked down three pieces of meat before she realized what she had done. The food might be poisoned. Then again, if they had wanted her dead, why bother putting her in the room in the first place. She flopped down on the bed unsure of what to do next. It was the first time she had looked up since she had woken.
The walls stretched high above her into darkness. She could not tell if there was a ceiling. When it finally dawned on her where she was, she frantically searched the walls again. Finding several large grooves in the wall that she could easily climb, she began her ascent without hesitation. Being stuck inside the trunk of a tree was not an option. Waiting around for someone to come was not an option either.
It did not take long for her to reach the top of the ladder. She climbed onto a small platform that felt a tad too springy for her comfort. With one last glance down, she thought that the room looked like a small dollhouse from how high she was. Feeling around in the darkness, she squealed with joy when her hand tightened around a knob.
Giving the door a push she faced a wind so hard she thought it might send her sprawling back into the chasm behind her. Slamming the door quickly behind her she paused for a moment to take in everything that she was seeing. She was high up. How high up she was not sure, but there was canopy above and below her. There were roped bridges stretching out across the trees.
As far as she could tell there was a bridge connected to every tree she could see in the distance. Glancing around her, she could see no other people, no elves, not even any animals. Confused and eager to find out what was going on, she moved across the bridge in front of her. On the other side of it, a small platform encircled the tree and another bridge, nothing more.
She continued on, reaching another tree and finding only another bridge. They did not seem to be taking her in any single direction. They had to go somewhere she thought and moved forward on to the next bridge. Hours seemed to pass, although she could not really be sure of the time. She couldn’t see the sun through the canopy and the light that filtered through the trees looked the same as it had when she started.
Something was not right. She stopped in the middle of the bridge she was crossing and looked down. Trying to sense if there was water below, she gave up when she could not feel anything. There was just emptiness. Even the trees around her seemed empty. Normally she could sense the water that flowed in even the smallest living things, but there was nothing.
Something nagged at her. It was there at the back of her mind but she couldn’t quite grasp what it was. It was as if she had forgotten something she had just learned. She tried to recall the last thing she could remember before waking up in the bottom of the tree. Something was there, trying to take shape.
It was fuzzy, like she had been looking through smoke when it happened. She remembered standing in a clearing, looking at Evangeline for comfort. Evangeline’s eye bore into to her. The smoke cleared away and memories came flooding in, washing over her like a tidal wave. Trust Ritual. It is a test, she thought.
Before she could change her mind, she climbed over the rope and stood on the other side of it. Leaning far forward with her arms holding the rope behind her, she closed her eyes and let go. The sensation of falling only lasted a few moments and then she felt a slight pull in her gut and felt as if she were floating down gently.
When she finally landed, the high mother Alta was sitting on the ground waiting. Alex sat down next to her and waited for her to say something.
“This is the City of Dreams.” Alta said as she motioned around her. “It is the passage from your realm to ours. To protect us from those who are not welcome among our people.”
Alex couldn’t help but think of some poor traveler lost forever in the maze of rope bridges.
“If a stranger were to venture into our land, they would simple walk past us as if we were a rotting tree trunk or pile of leaves. It is only those who would seek us out that are tested.” Alta explained to her.
Alex supposed reading her mind was not very strange given the circumstances.
“Not exactly in the way that you think. This is your mind Alexandra. Therefore it is not necessary for you to speak aloud.” The woman answered.
“Well now what? How do I get out of here?” She asked verbally.
“You just have to wake up.” Alta exclaimed.
Alex woke, seated on the ground and leaning against a tree. Ryhan was awake and looked away as soon as she saw her. Thad and Evangeline were still asleep. Her limbs felt heavy and her head hurt. Thankful it was over, she was not sure what had just happened or if she would ever understand it.
Waiting patiently for the others to wake, she took pleasure in the foul mood Thad seemed to be in when he woke. They stood and followed the elves deeper into the woods silently. Whatever had taken place for each of them in the City of Dreams, none of them felt like sharing.