Silverwood

The first piece.

"Can't take off from my handsome face, haan?"

A charm of the Taj Mahal is hanging over his side of the waist. What is it? And why is it here in this world?

"What is that?" I pointed at the charm.

"This.....this is an achievement." He replies.

"Where did you get that?"

"Why? You want it?"

"If I do?"

"Give me a fair deal then." He says, raising his brows. 

I can not give him much. But I want it. According to the book, if I get any essence of the other world I should take that as a hint. 

I dig into my handbag. I detached one crystal from the bracelet. 

"This crystal will do?" I ask.

He was okay at first, but after looking at me, he took a step back. 

"Where does a sweet little elf got the crystal? What are you up to sweety?"

"I just got it."

"So you stole it."

"No....It's a gift. From my friend." 

He tilts his head and checked me out. 

What a person, he thinks I am like him. 

"Five, plus the answer why you want it." His offer.

Five is much more. I have limited bracelets and a long way to go. 

"Two, and you'll tell where you found it." I bargain.

"Hmmm interesting. Should we go for three?" 

"Then you have to tell me what will you do with these crystals. Elves can't use it. They can't do magic."

"Two is enough." He says.

Shocking. 

"So...deal?" I ask.

He handed the charm to me.

"I got this in yeti's village. I am not that proud but I went there to steal something."

I roll my eyes.

"Hey, I told you, I am not proud of it. There I had to fight with yetis. In the snowfield, ice-cold breeze and with bare hands I defeated them. When I beat them, they begged for mercy. I made a deal, I'll spare them in return for this."

Lier. Such a big mouth. I have seen the yeti. The one on the bike. They are like a gorilla. Huge physic. No, wander he can beat them. Huh!

I took another crystal out of my bag. I was going to give him that, but someone annoyingly interrupted.

"Hey look, those burdens on our world have crystals. What are you gonna do with that haan? Sell our trust again. b****y traitors." A dwarf leafless tree-like figure having human features shouted while passing us on his flying board. 

"What the.." My reaction.

I am disgusted now. After a sigh, I stretched my hand towards him.

"You know what? Keep it. I don't want anything." He said in a cold way.

I get it. Leaving with a curse. Dealing with the humiliation. Elves are getting trolled by others. Wait, then what are trolls getting? Oh, I can't laugh. 

He left slowly. His face was pale before leaving. He was smiling before that person's words. 

Why do I bother? I got my first clue. Thanks to Plum. Because of him only I got this.

"I think, he can be useful." Vidya says.

What? She is advising me?

"Devi, your quest is long and dangerous. You need someone like him. He can do anything for crystals." She added.

I am shocked. She was talking like an in-build feature of a smart speaker and now her tone changed. 

"I don't think so." That's my reply.

She seems like she wants to argue. 

"He is courageous. Can go to risky places. We need him. I mean you need him."

Seriously! He just bragged. I don't believe in his story. But this naïve creature did. She wants me to stop him. I don't want to. I can not have another companion. Not the one on whom I can't trust. He is a thief. And it was him, because of whom I was about to die. Who knows, after he finds out my reality, he won't trade me to the bad guys. 

I am waiting till that elf disappears. After that, I can say.

"Too late. We can not ask him to join our quest. He left already." 

She is calm now. We are in a remote area. Trying to solve the puzzle. All I have to do is move the charm around the cubic puzzle. The cubic puzzle will give a clue to me.

I did as I am supposed to. I am moving the charm near the cubic puzzle. It reacted. Its cubes are moving. Something is happening. 

"P....A..R..T.....OF...T..H..E...The?...SU..MM........O N.. E.. R. Part of the sum one...Oh.. It is the part of the summoner. Wow." I am thrilled. I got a part and that too without any risky operation. I kiss Plum.

"Thank you, buddy."

Oh! The letters disappear. A strange image appeared on the cube's one face. On its opposite side, a campus appeared with an arrow softly flicking. The arrow's point is pointing in a direction. No matter where I move it, the pointer is fixed in that direction.

On one side it is written 'FIRST RAY', on another 'FIRST SNOW'. The rest two sides were blank. I mean, when I had it first it contains letters. Now it is blank. Impressive. Mind-blowing. Magical.

So, as I get the first clue. I am heading in that direction. The image is a bit blurry. Even Vidya couldn't figure out what's the image holds. 

"Hey, buddy. I really want a ride. Too tired." 

I know he is a teenager, but at least one ride can be affordable. No, what if he'll collapse? He is walking too. 

He turns into a wolf. 

"Don't get mad at me."

"He will call someone for your help." Vidya says.

"What? How do you know?"

"owooooooooo!!!!" He howls. 

"I don't think that is a good idea. A pack will come then? Buddy, stop."  

"OWOOOOOO!!!" A reply came.

Gulping the saliva, I looked around. The blue-colored bush shivered. Something is there behind it. 

"What is that?" I quaver. 

A light shin and a beautiful apricot-color Palomino horse appeared. 

Stunning! It turned into a pony so I could hop on it. Then again, became the horse. Wow!. I am a professional in horse riding. I can ride a horse even without a saddle. Thanks to my dad, who wanted me to participate in all the sophisticated group events. 

 "So Vidya, if you have read all books. You must be aware of the summoner. Tell me about it. Can by magic anyone can open the portal? What if there is no comet passing in the other world? Will it still work?"

I am vomiting all my curiosity in front of her. 

"Thousands of years ago the giants invented a summoner." She starts.

"Giants invented it?"

"Yes, they are like a scientist of our wold. The one with the greatest minds. They invented the summoner and started research on the other world. The research results in many information exchanges. He didn't mention that the other world has any knowledge about our world or not. But we know about that world. Silverwood was a harmonious place. Everyone lived peacefully here. The fairies you see patrolling above in the sky. It wasn't needed back then."

I look at the sky. Some fairies are monitoring everyone. 

"It is said that humans visited our land. We visited their land, too. But it stopped."

"Why?"

"No one knows the reason. Some say that the one who invented the summoner stopped letting others use his invention. Some say that the other world didn't want peace. They were cruel and brutal towards our people. Whatever the reason was, but the opening of the portal was stopped. At that time, elves were at the highest authority. They were powerful among every else. They were the most respected group back then. They asked that invented to destroy his work."

"Why so?" 

"They said that using summoner to open a portal is hazardous. It will bring misfortune to us. There is no need to use that. One book says that the summoner was used to study the other world when the study over it was of no use then."

"That makes sense."

"So the assistant of the inventor after the inventor's demise hid the summoners parts scattering over different places of this world. But he left some hint. This cubic puzzle and the gem were with him and it was passed to his new generation accordingly. His descendant kept the secret of the summoner with them. But one giant who was the follower of that inventor followed his research. The assistant and his family tried the best to keep the formula hidden, but the inventor's research was there which the assistant was not aware of. The fellow found the formula and created another summoner. But nothing happened. It didn't work. He showed his work to others, but it wasn't working. He kept trying. It was the event of eighty years back. When all announced him as a mentally ill old man, he tried again. And it worked."

"Maybe it wasn't working because there wasn't any comet passing the earth. It worked when the coincident overlapped with each other."

"Maybe you are right."

"Then what happened?"

"A human came to our world. The evils who were hiding in the dark stepped out, searching for that pleasant smell of that human. The witches shook hands with the demons. The army of them began to abduct people and eat them for their power."

"Eating a person gives the demon power?"

"Eating persons having magic. So elves are It is been said so. Chordewa and witches were in the demon's army. Our army was much stronger. A battle rose. So many bloods shaded. The more they ate, the more powerful they became. Our army killed most of them and trapped almost every demon with a spell. But elves betrayed us. Because of them, the demons won. Although only one demon remained, and she is much more powerful. She has captured the castle. The witches and the chordewas are her servants. Those two hunts down any of us to serve that person to the lord. Fairies took the charge to protect us. Elves got cursed, and they became magic-less. Because of the fairies, only this world is working well. I can't even imagine what would have happened if fairies wouldn't have fought back."

"Is that so? I have a doubt. Portal can not be open until the use of the summoner, right?"

She nodded.

 "So how did the portal opened now? The summoner is hidden, and no one knows where it is."

"You missed a point. The original one is hidden. But the replica is still with the demon in the castle."

"So the demon opened the portal? No! If that happened, my world is in danger too."

"Don't worry dear. Your arrival is a mystery. If the giants are cool with your arrival, that means your arrival has nothing to do with the demons."

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"One more thing. What happened to the human who came to this world?"

"Got eaten."

"You said they eat people with magic, right? Humans don't have it. Why a human is responsible for the combat? Entering a human in this world has nothing to do with the fight."

"Actually, demons got out to have the human only. Eating a human can give him immense power. There, only the elves betrayed others. They trade their lives for the human. To save their lives when they traded, they lost their magic too."

Why is she giving me shock treatment? Her answers are deflecting. 

"But you said..."

"I said, that now the one left who is the lord eats the one with magic. If she'll get a human again, then she can rise her fellow demons from the dead. And can release the other from the trap. A human may not have the magic but being from the other world makes them special. If they get the news of a human in this world, they'll come after you."

"And eat me to raise the army. And the paused battle will resume." Wiping sweat from my forehead after saving that. 

A human woke the sleeping demons and now another human came. I can't do the same. I must return before it is too late. This is their fight and they are almost winning it. I can not ruin anything. 

With those thoughts popping in my head we are heading in the direction where the arrow is pointing.