Far south of the towering pines of the alterna territory, the adventurers travel wearily through the overgrown forest of Ela Sat, being careful to stay away from all of the trees as they drip small drops of dark water. The forest is dimly lit beneath the shade of the leaves, but the ground is covered in dark green grass, and large rocks scattered about are overgrown with limey lichen. Curling avocado-colored vines sweep down off the trees, hanging like a living curtain over much of the forest, and ivy tendrils coil out of the grass in small patches of sunlight. The smell of moss and grass lies thick in the air, along with the scent of decay from many red mushrooms growing up trees and hiding in the grass.
“Where are we going? Does anyone even know anymore?” Seehea asks tiredly from Erve’s back, breaking the heavy silence that had been hanging over the group for hours.
“Hey, your English is getting better!” Thigi exclaims cheerfully.
“We’re looking for leads.” Gole replies sharply, ignoring Thigi’s cheerfulness.
“Out in the middle of a forest? We haven’t found any leads on where to go, and I’m tired of dodging rain drops and being terrified this horse is going to step in a puddle! I want this poison gone, and we’re not making any progress! Look out, there’s a puddle in front of you.” Seehea says, proving his point as Gole quickly sidesteps a puddle with dark swirls dancing in it.
Gole remains uncharacteristically mute, not having talked very much since her second banishment from alterna territory.
“And we want the water to go back to normal too, Seehea.” Onewe the humor says quietly, startling everyone but the steeds.
“When did you learn to speak English?” Trouse inquires, and the humor points shyly back to Gutu, who has the bound doub girl tied to his back.
“He taught me.”
The riders stare at the dog in surprise as he wags his tail happily, and Poole raises his eyebrows,
“You mean the dog taught you?”
“Yes, I did! She learned very quickly.” Gutu barks happily, and a low rumble emits from Gole’s throat.
“Why don’t we discuss this tomorrow? It’s getting late.” Thigi says rapidly, picking up on Gole’s increasing irritation.
“Wait, wait, stop!” Poole exclaims suddenly, and the whole procession comes to a halt.
“Go through that wall of pink ivy. I think I know where we are!” He commands, a smile crossing his features as he points to a curtain of pink ivy growing between two trees.
Without a word, Gole changes her course and plods through the ivy hanging down between the two trees, passing between a hidden wall of rocks, with Erve and Gutu following behind her. As soon as the adventurers come in contact with the pink ivy, it curls around and caresses them as they pass through it, a surge of inexplicable liveliness and happiness surging through each of them. The glishen gurgles out joyfully as he reaches for the ivy, and the group emerges from the curtain onto a dirt path.
“Look! A town!” Gole exclaims as she skitters out of the ivy like a frolicking kitten and looks brightly at a town with colorful houses and pink brick streets that the dirt path leads to.
Purple streetlights line the dirt path, turning on one by one in the dimming light to welcome the travelers into the town, while a faint chorus of children’s voices ring out from inside the town. The sunset that had been impossible to see through the trees of the forest shines clearly into the town. But now, its orange and golden rays dance off the golden roofs of the houses like a flame, sending shimmering beams of light into lanterns strategically placed with mirrors in them, fireworks of light splattering across nearby houses. Flowers of multitudes of sizes and shapes grow in the space between the dirt path and the houses, causing the field to burst with color and life, while the scents ensnare the senses of the rejuvenated adventurers. Even as the adventurers watch, the day flowers shut like eyes closing for the night, while the night flowers open with beautiful shimmering colors, their quiet tranquility somehow even more breathtaking than the bright joy of the daytime flowers.
With an ecstatic neigh, Erve rears up onto her hind legs and gallops into town, and Gole grins,
“Not without me you don’t!” The alterna calls, a bright gleam of laughter in her eyes as she chases after the horse in a sprint, with Gutu trailing behind, barking happily.
With great speed, the travelers wind their way through the pink town streets, laughing and chasing one another, all of their cares long forgotten. After a few minutes of playful scampering, the group reaches a grand bonfire in the center of the town, where a woman with shimmering green hair stands in the middle of a ring of children, clearly telling them a story.
“What are they?” Trouse asks in wonder as he snuggles against Gole’s Providence Cloth outfit.
“They’re pcree, a fantastic elven species with unmatched power, who are always willing to fight to preserve joy and honor. They are born too early, making them prone to disease, malnutrition, and death when they’re very young. They don’t walk, but rather glissade around, on any type of ground. As you can see, they have beautiful, shimmering, sparkling hair that ranges in color from green to black, and they look similar to elves, especially with their pointed ears.”
“I didn’t know elves had pointed ears.” Thigi remarks dreamily, in awe at the magnificent creatures as the woman continues her story, not paying the travelers any heed.
“Yes, they’re quiet fascinating. Each pcree controls a different element, making them each uniquely and extremely strong. They craft fantastic weapons that can only be used by those of pcree blood, and they hold festivals to celebrate and remember great battles. I never thought I’d be so lucky as to see them in my lifetime.” Poole whispers reverently as he gazes at the beautiful beings.
The pcree woman finally glances up at the travelers once she finishes her tale, speaking to them in the same tongue that Orink had spoken to the trapen with, filled with accented letters, while the pcree children stare at the group curiously,
“What’s she saying?” Trouse asks eagerly as he looks to Thigi.
“She’s telling the story of the tomen for us. We should sit and listen.” Thigi says, as she dismounts Gole, and the group all follows her instruction, sitting down in a cluster, watching the woman whose hair shimmers and sparkles in the firelight.
“Poole, you left out a part.” Thigi whispers as she peeps at the boy, looking away from the entrancing beauty of the pcree woman for a moment.
“What part is that?” Poole asks absentmindedly as he and the others continue to gaze at the woman in awe.
“The price that the tomen paid for their immortality.”
“They had to give up their entire life and their free will to the monster.” Poole says inattentively, his words barely being noticed by the others besides Thigi as the woman continues speaking in the strange accented language, her voice soft and lovely.
