Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the delay, guys. It's the first week of school, and I haven't had a lot of time to edit the fic. Anyway, this one's an in-between kind of chapter, but it will get more interesting soon. This one is dedicated to Moppy (sorry I don't know your actual name), Sarah, and Ashley.
His dreams were full of those people again that he thought were his siblings. Two of them he knew now were B.J. and Leslie, but the other girl with dark hair and the guy who looked like Nick, he still didn't know their names. They all had a big house together and there were a lot of dogs, both large and small but none quite so big as the canines that Nick had encountered in the forest. For some reason, Nick had to keep reminding his sisters to feed their dogs.
"Dogs get hungry, too," he muttered as rays of light shone through his eyelids. It was morning and Nick sat up. As his fingers gripped into handfuls of thick fur, he realized where he was – in the forest, on a moving bed of large, black hounds. /Well, weirder things have happened recently,/ Nick decided, blinking against his sleepiness and reached for the backpack that had fallen off of his stomach.
In the early morning daylight he was able to marvel at the canines' ability to run so closely packed together and in step. It was like they moved as one entity, never allowing for gaps that might let their passengers slip through. Arthur felt him stirring and spoke, "Within an hour or so, we shall reach the edge of our forest."
"How big are these woods anyway?" Nick looked around them, marveling at how fast the trees seemed to fly by.
"At a human's speed, it would have taken you three or four days to pass through the forest. Of course, that is if you kept to the marked road, but we have crossed these woods on special paths known only to us. When we found you and the young one, you were less than a third of the way along the trail. That cottage belonged to a woodcutter who lived on the edge of the forest. The rest of my people lived in a small village at the heart of the woods, which is now abandoned as we have no use for our old homes."
"Really, why not?" Nick wondered. "I mean, besides being… uh, dogs now," he faltered.
Arthur turned his head to look at Nick with one big, yellow eye. "Indeed, it is not just that which keeps us from returning to the village. Last night you spoke of blank books and emptiness everywhere you checked. It is much the same for us; our homes have become vacant."
"But why is all this happening?"
"I do not know for certain," Arthur admitted, "but I do have a theory. Strangely enough, it seems that Other World has its own means of combat. Somehow it has closed itself off, making the homes we once dwelled in uninhabitable, perhaps to turn the land inhospitable for the evils around. Of course, that also means that my people and I cannot dwell in the homes we once did."
As Arthur spoke, the sun rose and shone brighter into the forest. Lene woke from her spot on Bruno's back and looked about sleepily, rubbing her eye with a balled-up fist. She spotted Nick on the other side of the canine pack, and her smile brightened. With her free hand she waved at him.
Nick waved back. "So where are you taking us now? The forest edge?"
"Yes, there is a spring where we can rest near the edge of these woods, and that is where we shall leave you. I am sorry that we can escort you no further, but the border of these woods is our boundary."
"Will I be able to reach the castle from the edge of the forest?" Nick asked.
"Yes, but it is not a direct path, and it will not be easy. I am not sure of the exact way to get there, for we survivors of the war never went to Nightingale Hill. However, what I do know is that beyond our forest you will come upon a giant canyon, which you must follow for several days. It is impassable on this side for the canyon is so deep that if you were to fall in, it is said that you would die of hunger and thirst before you ever hit the bottom – or perhaps of fear in anticipation of the collision."
"Is that true?" Nick marveled.
"I do not know. I don't think that anyone has been willing to try it and find out," the black dog deadpanned. "So you must follow along the edge of that canyon for two days' worth of travel by foot, until the elevation drops and it opens onto a broad river. You will not be able to cross that river for some time, either, because it is too fast and wide and too deep to ford. Eventually, though, you shall come to a ford, and there you can cross to the other side. We know that there are developed lands across the river with more houses, though not quite to the extent of the developed lands that you were in before. Before the war, there used to be a market held in that town by the river every week. I do not know if the tradition still continues for no one comes through these woods anymore; maybe the town, too, is abandoned like that whence you came. And then beyond those lands, I know not what exists. All I can tell you is that the castle you seek is on Nightingale Hill, which itself is located in the middle of a great city, but I do not know how to get there. "
"You've never been anywhere past the town with the market?" Nick asked.
"No," Arthur explained. "My entire life has been spent in these woods, with an occasional visit to that marketplace. As a man, I never felt as though I lacked anything here, so I never sought the world beyond this forest. And now I am confined here until my dying day… at least it is in a place where I can be happy."
...
Before the edge of the forest, they stopped at the spring that Arthur had mentioned for rest. They were in a tiny grove with a small spring bubbling out from an outcrop of stones down to a pool below. There were many large, wide rocks to sit on, but Nick preferred to walk around and stretch his legs, which had gone numb from sitting for such a long time. Lene clung to Bruno the entire time, refusing to leave his side until she absolutely had to, even for Nick. "Puppy!" she exclaimed, latching on to the canine, which lowered his head to snuffle her hair affectionately.
The rest of the black dogs frolicked with each other as if they weren't the least bit tired, though they did stop to take slow drinks of cool water from the spring's pool. Nick quenched his own thirst, drinking the flowing water until his teeth hurt from the cold, and then filled the spare bottles he carried in his backpack.
When he was done, Arthur pulled him aside to share some final notes of warning. "We have guarded you from the dangers that would harm you in the forest, but there is still much peril in the plains beyond. It is a wide area, with only the canyon on one side and a great openness on the other. Do not stray from the canyon's side. If you try to venture out into that openness, you may never reach the town beyond."
"What do you mean?" Nick asked.
"I know not much of what goes on in the plains these days. They used to be safe, but now there are rumors… The animals of the forests are afraid to leave because they have seen what happens out there. They fear it even more than they do the dangers of the forest. Apparently, those who do not follow the canyon road wander out into the open plains and never return. And though it is quiet and peaceful in the day, at night strange things happen in the dark. You are in danger without a light to protect you."
"What sort of strange things? And there's still moonlight. Won't that protect us?"
"Even with the moonlight you are not safe," Arthur told him. "I am not certain of the nature of these creatures for the animals we questioned were so frightened with fear that we could not gather much information about them, but we do know that they are dangerous."
Nick felt a cold chill run through his body. He looked over at Lene, playing so happily with the other dogs, and knew that he had to do everything possible in order to protect her. "So what can I do to ward these things off? If moonlight doesn't work, then what?"
"Fire. There was a lightning storm a few years ago that set off some brush fires, and the animals reported that the night beings shirked away from the fire as they do sunlight. So as you travel, collect all the scrap wood and brush you find then build your camp and rest before dark. You must make a campfire as large as possible and sit as close to it as you can, and you cannot let it go out until the sun rises the next morning."
Nick looked around him for wood that he could collect now. There were some broken tree branches, but nothing big. "How will I be able to collect enough wood for such a big fire?"
"The plains are a big open field now yet that wasn't always the case. There used to be some trees near the canyon, but after a series of harsh storms, most of them were blown over, so there should still be scrap wood littering the plains. You'll be able to set a large enough fire with that," Arthur said.
"Allright," Nick nodded. "I can do that. Is there anything else?"
"That is all the advice I have for you at this time. Now you may ask any questions that you might have, and I will do my best to answer them."
"Thanks… So, why are you helping us? I mean, I appreciate it, but Lene and I haven't done anything for you… What's in it for you guys?" With a motion of his arm, Nick indicated the entire pack of hounds.
"Günter is after you, and there must be some reason for it. If there is anything we can do to foil that villain's plans, then we will do it gladly," Arthur told him.
"Thanks. Um, I have another question also…" Nick began slowly. The big dog lowered his head in a nod. Pulling out his backpack, Nick opened the bag and showed its contents to the dog. "Lene and I have some food, but not that much. Even though she has the power to fill empty things, she doesn't seem to be able to control what she fills them with. So Lene can't just summon food at will. …Do you know if there's anything to eat around here?"
"I'm afraid that you would not be able to stomach the things we eat in this canine form…" Arthur began. "Unless, that is, you can skin and cook a rabbit?"
"Afraid not," Nick said. If it ever came down to it, he would have to try, of course, but he had trouble picturing himself skinning a rabbit – especially with just a kitchen steak knife.
"I didn't think so," the black dog said. "I expected that… The people of the developed lands didn't know too much about such things either, from what I remember of the ones I met in the marketplace. So I sent a few of my people to scout the area for the various fungi that grow here. I am not an expert on such things, but a few members of the pack used to gather mushrooms before we were cursed and have experience with what is edible and what is not."
Because he was grateful for their help, Nick tried not to let his expression waver at the mention of fungus. /We have to eat that?/
Arthur turned as a group of three canines approached him. "Here they are now… Nick, I'd like to introduce Willis, Myrtle, and Barryn."
One of the large black hounds, Myrtle, stepped forward. She was older, the hair about her muzzle turning gray and white, and she spoke in a deep, rough woman's voice. "We found several patches of mushrooms at the bases of some trees not too far from here," Myrtle informed them.
"Good." Arthur turned to Nick. "You'll need to collect them yourself because our paws won't do. Lene can remain here with the rest of the pack while we go with these three. Are you ready?"
"Yup." He slung his backpack over his shoulder and followed the hounds to the mushroom patches.
With the directions of the elder canine, Nick got down on his knees in the dirt and gathered up mushrooms. Once he'd collected enough to last him and Lene for a few days, he carried them back to the spring where he rinsed them off. Nick laid them on top of one of the wide rocks to dry off and then gathered the mushrooms carefully into his backpack.
...
With many goodbye hugs and kisses, Lene finally pulled away from Bruno and took Nick's hand. The big black dogs ranged themselves in rows at the edge of the forest and watched as the two waved.
"Bye," Nick bowed his head to Arthur and to the rest of the pack. "Thank you so much – for everything."
"Good speed to you and remember, fire is your ally."
"Bah-bai!"
They headed out of the forest and when Nick looked over his shoulder, the canines were still standing there watching until they disappeared out of sight.
Nick found the canyon easily and held Lene's hand tight. "Don't let go of me, kiddo. It's a looooong drop down." They crept up towards the edge of the cliff but not too close as Nick felt the strong pull of gravity. The walls of the canyon were a rich swirl of red and gold, and as he looked down the color was lost in the dark blackness. Nick couldn't see the bottom. "Okay, that's enough canyon for us." He stepped back from the edge and looked across the chasm, which appeared to be miles wide. On the other side was a stretch of open field with a scrub of brush beyond that, then a forest and far in the distance, the hill and the castle on top of it. Was Günter there now in that castle, waiting?
Nick and Lene started walking down the long gradual slope beside the cliff. It was hard to see very far because of the way that the canyon curved. They plodded along steadily, and Lene, the usual chatterbox kept up a steady running commentary.
"Hey, look at those rocks! And the grass, it's all yellow and dried… And those fields, they're so big!" The plains stretched far and wide away from the cliff's side, and Nick could not see where they ended. "The doggies were nice, weren't they, Nick?"
"Yeah, they were," he agreed.
"Are we going to the castle now?"
"We're trying to, but I'm not sure how to get there. Since this canyon is in the way, we're going to have to go around it somehow, probably crossing the river that Arthur said would be at the bottom," Nick told her.
"And then we go to the castle?" the five-year-old asked.
"Eventually. When we cross the river, the way to the castle should be clearer than it is now." Or at least Nick hoped so.
