The others watched him anxiously. From their vantagepoint they had a clear view of the door, but could not see what lay on the other side. After a few minutes Spike slowly flew back, and landed next to Thistle. Several of them crowded around on the narrow ledge. Others landed on an outcrop just above, and precariously leaned over to hear what Spike was reporting.
"It's bright on the other side. Looks like it's just after midday meal time there," Spike was saying.
"Did you see Travis and Telah?" Thistle asked.
"No sign of them. There's a golden red shimmer, and lots of enormous leaves floating through the air. If they went very far it would be hard to see them through the leaves."
Briar's eyes shown with excitement. "Giant leaves might make for some really great leaf surfing."
Spike laughed, "They were big enough for group surfing. We'd all fit on one leaf."
"That doesn't sound too safe," Della said timidly.
"It would be hard to fly through thick leaves," Mari pointed out.
"I don't think there were that many leaves," Spike chuckled.
Mari sighed and asked, "What about the air? Was it cold? Did you smell any animals?"
"Nooo?.," Spike drawled. "The air felt cool and refreshing. There was a fine earthy smell with just a hint of berries. If they are anything the size of the leaves?." His voice trailed off as he glanced out of the corner of his eye at Buckleberry.
At the mention of giant berries, Buckleberry perked up, "That sounds promising. Maybe we should explore. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say."
Briar snorted good-naturedly, "Well we wouldn't want to miss a food opportunity would we?"
"Sounds like fun. Let's go explore," Thistle said.
With that, he and Spike flew to the door with Buckleberry trailing along. Mari was mumbling about rashly flying into danger, but was following with a curious anticipation. They all grouped around the door.
"Come on," said Thistle. "We can always just come back if it looks unsafe." With that he flew through the door with Spike close behind.
"Our Fearless Leader certainly sounds sure of himself as he flies into the unknown. Hope he knows what he's talking about," Della muttered as she followed the others.
As she flew through the door, she felt the disorienting effect. Landing hard on a pile of leaves, she looked around dazedly. The others were scattered on the ground nearby looking much the way she felt.
Glancing back, she was surprised to see how far they were from the door. It was in the bottom of a tree trunk. Though it had appeared quite large to her before, it was now dwarfed by the wide girth of the tree. Her gaze followed the trunk up, up, up, where she saw a gigantic leaf floating to the ground.
Hearing voices she looked around to see that Spike and Briar had recovered from the initial transition, and were now discussing the possibilities and difficulties of surfing on one of the enormous leaves. She smiled and noticed that Buckleberry was following his nose, and heading for berries that were high up in a tangle of vines circling the clearing.
A moth about the same size as the pixies landed in front of the door. As she was admiring its brown and yellow wings, a large bird dived down into the clearing. Della gasped in dismay as the bird swallowed the moth in two bites. Everyone turned, and stared in horror at the bird.
"To the vines quickly," Thistle commanded. Everyone flew to the Tangles where Buckleberry sat, oblivious to the danger. Hearing the commotion, he looked up. His face was covered with juice, and he had a large berry in each hand. His eyes got large as he saw the bird chasing his friends. He hurled one of the berries. With an explosion of red pixie dust, it hit the bird in the eye just as it was about to gobble up Buttercup. The bird screeched angrily with temporary blindness. Shaking its head, it veered off in the other direction. His friends tumbled into the safety of the vines around him.
There they all sat panting and weak with fright. Buckleberry looked around at them, heaved a sigh, and said, "Anyone want a berry?" He offered the one he still held to Buttercup, who smiled weakly and said, "Hero food. I'll have several."
Soon they were all stuffing berries in their mouths, the frightening incident forgotten.
"If we're all recovered quite nicely and fortified for the journey, shall we continue?" Thistle asked.
Buttercup looked scornful, and Della frowned doubtfully. Buckleberry looked up and said, "Leave this feast?"
Thistle laughed, and he and Spike made their way through the tangles to the other side with the girls trailing behind. Briar turned to Buckleberry and teasingly said, "Might be new and wonderful food just waiting around the corner." Buckleberry muttered, "Berries in the hand worth more?.," but got up to join them.
Emerging from the Tangles, they discovered a path, which they decided to follow. Although they did not know it, they were following the route Morley had taken that morning, and heading in the opposite direction from Travis and Telah. Buckleberry was at the end of the group still grumbling. As they flew along a few feet above the ground, a tantalizing smell wafted towards them, fading in and out.
When Buckleberry caught a whiff of pastry, he stopped grumbling and sniffed with anticipation. Maybe Briar's right he thought to himself, and flew up close behind Thistle and Spike.
Mari glanced at him, "Change your mind about adventure?"
Buckleberry shrugged, "Just adding my support to the team."
The breeze shifted. A strong smell of pastry mixed with heavy spices flooded over them. Buckleberry closed his eyes, and breathed deeply. Buttercup giggled. Mari laughed and said, "Especially if the team is heading for a sweet encounter."
As Buckleberry feigned an injured look, Buttercup said, "Nothing wrong with some incentive. We are here to explore."
Buckleberry smiled happily, "What better to explore than new culinary adventures."
Thistle and Spike had been conferring together. Thistle nodded. Spike veered away from the others, and shot up to the tops of the trees where he hovered for a moment before he dove back down. "There's a house ahead with a fenced in yard. Must be where the aromas are coming from," he reported.
They hurried along, eager to find the source of the tantalizing smells. It wasn't long before they came to the edge of the woods, but stopped short when they saw the stone figure. The tall hat shadowed its face, and the menacing owl filled them with apprehension. The figure's hand pointed directly at them.
There was much commotion as they bumped into each other trying to stop their flight and get back under cover of the trees.
Suddenly Buttercup giggled. "It's just a stone statue," she said. Flying over, she landed on the hat, and sat down dangling her feet over the brim. Soon there were pixies on the statue's outstretched arm, a couple on its shoulder, and one on the owl's head.
From this vantagepoint they had a clear view. They could see scattered trees in the yard leading up to a large porch on the back of a red brick house.
But what caught their attention was the enormous beast running through the fenced in area. It was covered with solid black fur, and had a long tail that was constantly in motion. It loped around the yard chasing a ball and chewing on it ferociously. Occasionally it would jump up, place its front paws on the top of the fence, and look over into the woods.
They watched with amazement. After some discussion they decided the beast couldn't jump the fence, and they would be safe in the air.
Flying to a tree near the house, they sat on one of the lower branches. A delightful aroma was drifting through an open window. Unfortunately the window had a screen. They were busy discussing how to get in when the dog, which was a Labrador Retriever, caught sight of them. It immediately gave chase. Reaching the bottom of the tree, it stood on its hind legs and barked loudly. It then ran back and forth between the house and the tree, barking and panting and making a horrendous din.
The back door of the house opened, and a giant stepped out onto the porch.
He called, "Belvedere.
Come here!"
Panting and wagging its tail enthusiastically, the dog obediently trotted over to the man.
"What's the matter boy?" he asked the dog. It ran back to the tree and barked up at the pixies who had scrambled for cover in the foliage. The man walked over and looked up. "What is it Belvedere? A squirrel?"
Buttercup was on a branch nearest the ground. She peered at the dog through a small opening in the leaf she had wrapped around herself. It looked up and yawned widely revealing a cavernous mouth lined with sharp white teeth. Startled, she let the leaf slip.
The movement caught the dog's eye causing it to bark again. She felt dizzy and started to lose her balance. The man was turning in her direction when a woman called to him from the house. He turned back to the dog. "Come on Belvedere. Let's get your leash and we'll all go for a walk."
The dog immediately forgot about the pixies, and bounded to the porch. It lapped water noisily from a dish just outside the door. The man came up behind it, and they went into the house.
Buttercup collapsed in a little heap. The leaf she had been clutching floated to the ground. Mari and Della fluttered down to the branch to console her.
CHAPTER 15 - BACK FROM THE HERB GARDEN
That same morning, Morley had risen early and prepared for another excursion through the door. He was getting low on mint and some of the other herbs, which he sold to Barley the grocer.
He was now returning from a successful journey to the herb garden with his backpack bulging. His new lyte cloak had worked perfectly, and had kept him invisible in the bright sunlight. The trip had taken longer than he expected, and it was already twilight. His cloak still partially hid him, but he now appeared as a shadow slipping quietly through the grass. There was a full moon in the sky. Although the sun was not completely set, it was already dark under the trees.
Realizing the light was changing, he stopped and reversed the cloak so that the cloth made from moonlight was on the outside. He unrolled the new flap over his backpack covering it neatly. As soon as the moon dominated the sky, he would once more be invisible except for an occasional shimmer of gray.
CHAPTER 16 - HONEY AND HIDING
Telah and Travis did not stop running until the road was out of sight, and the voices were fading. They paused to catch their breath. Travis dropped the backpack and collapsed next to it.
He panted "What do you think that was?"
"Could be one of the large animals described in my grandfather's book Monstrous Mammals."
"It certainly sounded monstrous," Travis said emphatically. "Speaking of monstrous?look at the size of that bee!" He pointed over her shoulder.
She jumped, let out a squeal, and scurried over behind him.
"It's okay, they're honeybees. They won't bother you if you don't annoy them. My grandfather keeps bees, but I've never seen any that size."
"You're sure?" she said doubtfully.
He nodded. "Come on." Telah kept a watchful eye on the bee's movements. White flowers grew abundantly in the grass, and more and more bees buzzed around the flowers. Just ahead was a large mound.
They cautiously approached it, and found it to be an abandoned hive that still had honey in it. After eating some of the honey, they decided to get on with finding the herb garden, and think about heading back.
Chewing on beeswax, they skirted around the fallen beehive, and made their way to where they thought the garden should be. The map showed a tidy square garden bordered with flowers, located right next to the beehives. All around them was a variety of weeds and various flowering plants, but nothing resembling a garden such as Travis' father would design.
He began to look closer at the plants, and was wondering where the flower border would begin when he suddenly recognized one of the leaves. It was one of the plants in the cave. Excitedly he showed his discovery to Telah.
"But it's not like on the map," she said hesitatingly. "Do you think we're in the wrong place?"
"No?," he said slowly. "I think maybe we were wrong about the map still being accurate. I think it's changed a lot in 100 years. Everything's gone wild. I think we're IN the herb garden."
"But this can't be where Morley gets his herbs, can it? There's no sign that anyone, other than us, has been here in a long time. None of the plants have been cut or broken."
"The only answer is that there must be another herb garden. Maybe it's time to head home. It's getting late. You did want to be home before dinner." She nodded.
The journey back was longer than they remembered. They were getting tired and regretted having drunk all their water. It was late afternoon. Although the sun was starting to set, it was still hot and they were very thirsty. When they finally reached the trees, it was a relief to get out of the sun and into the cool shade. All their thoughts were focused on finding the berry patch, and quenching their thirst with the cool sweet juice. Even the birds overhead were no longer frightening.
As they stumbled along, Telah began to have doubts about the direction they were heading. She looked around for something familiar, but everything looked the same. It was an endless line of tree trunks, pine needles, and an occasional pinecone. There was no sign of a berry bush.
She was getting ready to stop Travis when she heard a rustling behind them in the trees. Travis heard it too and stopped, his back stiff. He turned slowly to face her and their eyes met. The rustling stopped, but they now heard a snuffling noise from the same direction. Ahead of them was a tree that had a mass of entangled roots protruding from the ground. Travis nodded towards it. They ran to the roots, and crawled in among them. Peering out, they watched the open space.
CHAPTER 17 - PIXIE BROUHAHA
Mari, Della and Buttercup huddled together as the man and woman passed by the tree, talking and laughing together. The dog was now on a leash. They went through a gate in the back of the fence.
The pixies watched the giants disappearing into the woods - all except Buckleberry who was staring at the house. Clearing his throat, he said softly, "They left the door open?"
Before anyone could say anything, Buckleberry had slipped off his branch. He flew towards the screen door, drawn by the enticing aroma. Thistle, Spike and Briar immediately took off after him.
"Thinking with his stomach again," Mari said exasperated. "Come on Buttercup, let's go rescue your hero and the other boys." Giggling they pushed off the branch, and flew to the house.
Thistle looked through the door and saw a kitchen. Along one wall there was a counter with metal mixing bowls, spoons, bags, and other containers of what looked like ingredients for baking. Cupboards lined the wall over a deep sink. In the middle of the room was a long wooden table with chairs. Three ceramic cooling racks on the table were filled with the biggest rolls he had ever seen or imagined. They were still warm. Icing dripped down their sides, and pooled on the wax paper under the racks. The whole room smelled intoxicatingly of yeast, spice, and sugar.
In the middle of this pastry paradise sat Buckleberry. He was covered with frosting and had a piece of pastry in his right hand. He was attempting to use it to catch the frosting dripping from his other hand, but ended up just licking his fingers. His eyes were closed in bliss, and he had a contented smile. Opening his eyes he waved a gooey hand and called, "Over here. It's food fit for a forest king."
They all flew in and joined him on the table. Soon they were laughing and throwing pieces of pastry to each other. In short order, the table was littered with pastry and sticky with frosting.
Mari decided she was thirsty. Flying lazily around the room, she looked for something to drink. She landed on top of a large bag of flour raising a cloud of powder. Laughing and kicking her dainty feet, she created a great white cloud that sparkled with gold pixie dust as it hung in the air.
Spike flew over to join the fun, and landed on the other side of the bag. Mari quickly hit him in the chest with a handful of flour, and knocked him off balance. Green pixie dust rose in the air as Spike lau
ghingly flapped his wings, and struggled to catch his balance. In spite of his efforts, he tumbled off the bag falling towards the mixing bowl. He tried to fly back up. His laughter stopped as he realized that he wasn't slowing down. Pixie dust exploded around him as he struggled to slow his fall. He felt a strong force pulling him down. He hit against the inside wall of the bowl, and stuck to the side instead of sliding down to the bottom.
Hearing Spike's surprised shouts, Mari leaned over the side of the bag laughing, and saw him stuck on the side of the bowl. "What's the matter - too much sticky frosting?" she called.
Spike looked up and saw Mari's pretty face. Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she looked down over the side of the bag. It was white with flour and there were streaks of white in her golden hair.
Not wanting to admit any weakness he called back, "Just checking the bowl for any tasty treats." He put more effort into his struggles. Soon the inside of the bowl was covered with green pixie dust. The only result was that he ended up stuck even firmer, and his struggles had turned him upside down.
Thinking he was playing, Mari laughed at his antics until she almost fell off the bag herself. Soon Spike could do little more than wiggle his toes, and his face was turning red under the flour. Mari lay down on the bag, and peered over the side. "Stop fooling around Spike. "
He sighed, and realized he needed help. "I'm stuck, and I can't get loose."
"Okay," she giggled. "I'll come down and rescue the big strong prince." With a flourish of her hand she raised a plume of pixie dust and floated slowly down in a golden cloud. As she neared the bowl, covered in sparkling golden dust, she suddenly started to fall faster. She gave a little cry of alarm as she careened into the side of the bowl just above Spike.
"What is it? What are you doing?" he called up to her.
"I'm stuck too," she wailed. They both started calling for help.
Back at the table, the other pixies were singing and eating - which is only easy if you're a pixie. As they came to the end of one of their raucous choruses, they paused for breath and heard faint cries for help. "Is that someone calling for more food?" suggested Briar.