(Previous)
This
was not the time to panic.
I
told myself that as I watched the gigantic creature covered in moss, leaves,
twigs and roots pulled himself up out of the hole. He'd left it once already to attack the
wyverns, but I'd been so worried about (1) him falling on us and (2) the wyverns attacking and killing
us that I had not looked at the hole.
I
inched forward but kept well back from the opening. It was big.
Bog Bob had slipped out and sat behind the hole, Looking like a giant
benevolent gnome. He grinned
brightly.
"Go
on in. Room for everyone!"
"Where
does it take us?" I asked, stepping closer, but not actually going in yet.
"Down
quite a ways and then across the bridge to the caves. The caverns are miles long," Bog Bob
said, peering down into the darkness.
"You'll want to go straight through to the other side of the
forest. That's about twenty miles, I'd
say. You want to be careful,
though. There's dangerous stuff down
there."
"Of
course there is," Edmond muttered.
"What
is on the other side of the forest?" Lord Snow asked. He sniffed at the opening. I could tell it was dank and dark but Snow
and Edmond should be able to tell if there were other things down there. So far their tails only twitched a little,
left and right, left and right - pretty much in sync. They didn't seem to have found anything more
unacceptable than usual.
"It
used to be a wide, grassy land," Bog Bob said with a slight frown. He gave a shrug and dirt fell around us. "I haven't been there in years and
years, but things don't change often.
I'm afraid I just got too big to go through, you see."
He
patted himself on the stomach. I
refrained from askign what he ate.
"Maggie?
Lady? Beth?" I said looking around.
The three were grouped together a few feet behind me. This was not a decision I was going to make
on my own. "Do we go?"
Maggie
looked back at the people who were waiting, and then beyond them towards the
sky where things were moving. "Yes,
I'd say we go," she decided. The
other two gave quick nods.
The
creatures in the sky looked like they must be more wyverns. A lot of wyverns.
"Edmond? Lord Snow?" I asked, but I was already
taking a step closer to look in.
"We
go," Lord Snow said. "We go
quickly. Shall we scout, Edmond?"
"Yes,"
the smaller cat agreed. "You should
come with us, Mark. You must help find
the way that is best for the others to follow."
I
thought he might be trying to get me out of the path of danger and I frowned.
"Go!"
Maggie all but shouted. "Find the
way down there for us!"
I
suspected her of doing the same, but it did make some sense. I could have sent Maggie, but she had spent
more time with some of the others and they'd listen to her.
"Let's
go."
I
made my way to the edge of the hole. A
curving path lead downward, spiraling along the outer edge. It was line with stone and I wondered who had
used it in the past. The scent of fresh
ir and green grass gave way quickly to damp earth and while that was not a bad
smell, it did reinforce the feeling that we were leaving the world behind.
"Rabbit
hole," Edmond mumbled. "I don't
think this is better than the mouse hole we were in before."
"Better
than facing those wyverns," Lord Snow said. "I would like to say I trust Bog Bob,
but . . . Overly friendly creatures make me nervous."
I
nodded agreement and looked upward. Bog
Bob looked down at us with a bright smile.
"What
do you think he eats?" I said softly.
"Wyverns,
I hope," Edmond replied.
The
others were starting down the trail as well.
Bog Bob had stopped watching us and I had the feeling he was keeping his
eyes on the Wyverns. I ought to be
trusting him, I thought. There was no
reason to mistrust everyone we met.
Was
there?
"We
better move more quickly," Edmond said.
"We have a lot of people following behind us and if Bog Bob decides
he wants to get back in his hole, I want to be out of the way."
"Good
point. I think something is glowing down
there. At least we might be able to
see."
I
didn't really want to rush down the curving path, but I didn't want to leave
the others out in the open. I didn't
want to run into the unknown, either.
Still,
I felt an odd bit of exhilaration as I picked up some speed and ran with the
two cats. Down and around, and around --
the path proved wide enough for the three of us to move together. The walls
were rough and I could see ahead, though I still couldn't see the bottom of
this pit. Just down and down and down.
The
trail ended before the pit into the ground did, though I thought I could see
solid ground below. Was that huge a huge
table and bed? This was likely Bog Bob's
home. Our circular trail ended here,
but a wide bridge of woven tree branches
and roots that stretched across the now wider opening and disappeared into a
misty distance.
"I
am starting to think you're far too exciting to travel with, Mark," Edmond
decided. He put one paw on the bridge
and then pulled it back again and looked up.
"Meow."
"Edmond?"
The
cat looked startled. "Meow. Meow, meow, meoooow!"
Lord
Snow took several quick steps backwards.
So did I.
"MEOW!"
And
something chuckled.
To Be Continued. . . .
970 Words
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