CHAPTER 5: THE MAGIC MUSHROOMS
1345 Words
The journey became more treacherous, with thick forests, steep hills, and more dangerous creatures along the way. Most of the paths were littered with sharp rocks and fallen trees, and the terrain became increasingly rugged.
For an umpteenth time, they grew exhausted as the day wore on, and paused to rest under an oak tree. They unpacked their meal box which the villagers had helped restock for them, and did their best to have a hearty meal even as thoughts of the river nymph kept flowing back to them. It was unfathomable just how one creature could embody so much evil. Turning the pretty princess into a nymph and driving her into the river was one of the most diabolical acts of Anaplekte they had heard so far, and they earnestly wished they had the powers to break the curse and free her.
They had barely finished their meal when a strange voice whispered from among the trees
“Children! Children! Do not rest. We’re almost there!”
They looked around to see who was speaking but found no one.
Brawler and Whiskers had picked their ears and wagged their tails as they searched around too. They didn’t have to search for long when the voice came through again:
Fear not, I am the spirit of the ancient trees,
Seer of all, your quest ordained by decree.
Hasten westward as your map unfolds,
Time slips away, its secrets untold.
Unlock next puzzle, let destiny manifest,
In the forest's embrace, find your quest.
They pack their bags once again and headed westward of the forest without hesitation. As they trudged on, the Treekeepers noticed that the forest was changing. The trees were taller and thicker, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of flowers.
"This must be the enchanted part of the forest," whispered Emma. "It's getting more beautiful here."
That wasn’t far from the truth as the trees seemed to be moving before their eyes. They remembered thed had to be careful so as not to collide with them. Soon stumbled upon a clearing where a group of fairies were dancing happily around a tree.
The fairies were startled by the sudden, but they quickly realized that the children meant no harm.
“Oh! Hi!” Emma waved as she called out sweetly at the fairies before they could vanish.
"Hello there," said a fairy with bright pink hair as it fluttered and landed on Emma's shoulder. "My name is Petals. What brings you to our playground?
The children were utterly mesmerized, and so did their pet companions. They had never seen any scene like this before. Whiskers and Brawler couldn’t resist sniffing around the strange creatures.
“Petals!” repeated Emma. “So sweet a name!”
The fairies were small and delicate. They fluttered around the children, their wings glowing in the sunlight.
“My goodness!” exclaimed Max, finally finding his voice. “These are beautiful!”
“Oh, do not make us blush, human,” said a blue fairy as she landed on Max’s head. “We appreciate the compliment”
Jack had pulled out his sketch book and pen and was about to capture the beautiful scene when another fairy landed on his hand. “You can’t do that without our consent,” the fairy protested.
“My bad! I’m sorry,” Jack apologized. “May I?”
“No!” the fairies replied firmly in unison, compelling him to return his tools to his bag.
“Well, why are you here,” asked another fairy, as it fluttered right in Jack’s face.
“I have found it all out, Flora,” said the blue fairy that had perched on Max’s head.
“Really?” Flora sounded delighted. “Oh, Bubbles! I should have known you were at it!”
Bubbles fluttered off Max’s head as she announced excitedly to her companions:
“They’re are the Treekeepers of Blossomwood, the ancient glorious Kingdom down south.”
“Oh, really!” the delight on her companions’ faces was very obvious.
“Yes, really” answered Bubbles. “And…they’re in quest of the magic mushrooms… to defeat Anaplekte, that ancient and dreaded foe of all creatures.”
The fairies all seems to look at the children again as though for the first time.
"Anaplekte?" Petals’ expression and tone was not pleasant as before.
The children nodded, surprised that the fairies could know that much about them without them even saying a word yet.
"He's a dangerous creature. You’re on a dangerous mission, little humans,” Petals added.
”We understand the risk, sweet fairies,” Max said, feeling a bit bad for the fairies for their worries.
“Oh! And what are the risks?” the question came out from Flora as a smirk. “By the way, you’ll need seven times as much strength you’ll need to defeat the goblin guardians of the magic mushroom to defeat Anaplekte. I bet you do not know about that.”
The children swallowed hard, as they exchanged nervous glances. They had absolutely no idea what it would entail to defeat Anaplekte apart from being in possession of the magic mushrooms.
“Well, we’ll give you all the help we can if you insist of proceeding with your quest,” Petals said with a reassuring tone. “You can make any request from us,” she added.
At the children’s request, the fairies taught them to cast spells, then gave them magical herbs to boost their strength against the goblins they would encounter. Not only did they leave the fairies with renewed energy and enthusiasm, but their pets could also communicate like humans, and they bonded more strongly than they ever did as they scampered off on their way.
After several more hours of hiking, the children finally reached the location marked on their map.
"Look, there it is!" Max exclaimed, pointing to a patch of mushrooms in the distance.
As the children approached the spot, they discovered it was heavily guarded by a group of goblins. They huddle together with their pets, trying to come up with a plan to get past the goblins.
Max tapped his chin with his finger, "Okay, so here's what we do. I'll use my slingshot to throw a rock over there, to distract the goblins. While they're investigating, Emma and Jack will sneak past them and grab the mushrooms while I stay behind to create more distraction if necessary."
Jack nodded, "Sounds like a plan. But what about our pets? Can we leave them here?"
Whiskers, the clever cat, made to meow, but the words came out instead: "Don't worry, Jack, my friend. We’ll follow suit in the plan. I will sneak past the goblins with you and Emma in case there’s an emergency that requires my skill, while Brawler remains in hiding some distance from Max and create another diversion in case Max’s own does not quite work before we can get the mushrooms."
Emma grined, "Great idea, Whiskers! Let's do this."
For a while, they had forgotten these companions of theirs were animals who normally could not speak. Thanks to the spells the fairies worked on them. They were a more formidable squad than ever and were all determined to make this mission a success.
Unfortunately, their plan did not quit work out as designed. The goblins had barely left their stations to investigate the diversion when Emma and Jack snuck from their hiding to gather the mushrooms. Sadly, Jack tripped and fell, drawing the attention of the goblins.
The goblins snarled at the children, fire visible in their eyes as they approached. At that moment, the children understood what it meant to come face to face with death.
The next thought that came to their mind were the fairies’ words:
“You’ll need seven times as much strength you’ll need to defeat the goblin-guardians of the magic mushrooms to defeat Anaplekte.”
Will they make it out alive?
Are the herbs and spells from the fairies of any use to them?
Find out!
- Writer
