Short chapter this week, I'm afraid. Volunteering takes up a lot of my time! I promise it'll be longer next time! (After two such long chapters one should hardly complain ^_^)
Do review! ~Essanamjay xoxo
Though Arthur was a little reluctant on leaving town, he was still quite eager to get back and fall into the pillows. All the walking around and the absorbing of this century made his muscles like jelly. Maybe he hadn't truly regained all his strength after all.
But Essie and Merlin insisted the go see the Grove, so he had no other choice but to agree.
They got into the car and settled. After a few desperate minutes of Essie trying to start the car, then getting out of the difficult parking they were in, she finally managed to do a horrible U-turn and start their way back up the trail.
The sun was starting to set earlier than usual behind them, casting looming shadows down the dirt trail. It gave the forest a new face, Arthur thought. Suddenly it wasn't a friendly light forest inhibited by small woodland creatures. It had turned into a tall wall of darkness, threatening to swallow them in and never let them out.
Some things never change, Arthur thought.
They drove without talking all the way to where they had parked previously to see Old Slate. They came out quietly to not disturb her, as Essie had warned them that since it was getting darker she would assume something insane and call the cops.
They walked silently into the forest, which Arthur was accustomed to tracing back to his days with the knights. Merlin, strangely, seemed completely comfortable to do so as well, which was different from what Arthur remembered. He used to be fidgety and made a lot of sarcastic comments on how they were all going to die. Secretly Arthur used to enjoy his dry humor because it distracted him from feeling a bit jumpy in the forest as well. Everyone was, to some extent, afraid of the dark.
Essie was completely ignorant of her surroundings, strutting through the forest like she was seeking out prey, not being sought out herself. Although, Arthur reminded himself, there weren't looters and rapists and the such hiding in the forest anymore. Or… he didn't think so. There must have been... something done about that.
"She had said it was a little west from here," muttered Merlin, as they passed Agatha Belle's burrow. Arthur almost ran into the panties-clad clothesline, but luckily, Essie caught his drift and shoved him out of its way.
They stepped into the denser parts of the forest, the sun now only peeping through between the trunks slightly. Light was scarce.
"There," Arthur panted, "that little clearing, it must be it."
"Yeah, seems so."
They stepped into a tiny grove surrounded by short stalky trees, with a dusty light green wig of leaves. Some small white flowers appeared here and there amongst their branches, but they were dying at this time of year, it seemed. Merlin remembered how they were used in potions to cure small things like burns and warts, but also things like epilepsy and blindness. Just in case, he collected a few of the surviving ones and placed them into the small pouch hanging from his shoulder.
"There must be where it happened," pointed out Arthur suddenly, spying a small disturbance at the foot of a particularly larger Elder tree. The dirt looked slightly churned up, and there was a curiously less amount of grass growing there. Arthur stooped low and examined the patch of ground. It looked almost… burned away.
"Look, his axe is still here," pointed out Merlin from behind him. Arthur looked over his shoulder and spotted Merlin with a small fire axe, which seemed to have been throw amongst a small bush just a little over.
"It's so… messed up," stated Essie, examining the handle, "look, it's been cut up here… how'd that happen?"
"It seems like the axe was chopped by another axe," murmured Merlin. Essie rolled her eyes at this observation.
"Nicely put," she muttered.
"There's quite a lot of dust here," observed Arthur, peering at his handful of dirt closely in his hand, "like something's been burned."
Merlin made his way over and peered over Arthur's shoulder.
"Well, not really, it looks more like something's been… smashed in this spot, I think."
"Like stone?" inquired Essie, remembering how Old Slate had insisted Guy Schmeltzer had turned into some sort of statue. She was now looking around the largest Elder Tree that towered above them.
"Seems so," murmured Arthur, "and look-"
Arthur took the axe from Merlin, examining the handle more closely, "-the handle's been pressed under some sort of grip until it broke, it hasn't been chopped. That would back up Old Slate's story a bit."
Merlin nodded back, when suddenly Essie gasped loudly.
"Guys, look at this!" she whispered in awe, pushing back the branches to let them see. Merlin and Arthur got up and looked over her shoulder.
Carved into the tree eloquently, like it had been done by an expert wood carver, was a small picture of a tree whose branches were connected to the roots, like a circle. The branches and roots criss-crossed each other symmetrically, all coming together in the middle to form a thick and cricked trunk. The symbol was almost too familiar to Arthur.
"But that's- that's…"
"Morgana's crest," breathed Merlin, "the symbol of the Old Religion."
Arthur swallowed. The air got a little thicker.
"What do you mean?" asked Essie, looking between them and their serious expressions, "what's the symbol of Old Religion, what does it mean?"
"Also known as the Tree of Life," answered Merlin in barely more than a whisper, tracing the lines with his long fingers, "it represents very very old magic. If whatever has done this to Schmeltzer is of the Old Religion, then we're in deep trouble."
"How come?"
"Because it is the sign of evil," replied Arthur, looking at her in frustration, "if this… Old Girl comes from the Old Religion than it will be much harder to beat or subdue. Not to mention the magic is thrice times powerful."
"How do you know that?" asked Essie, suddenly curious and not at all fazed by what was happening. In fact, a rush of adrenaline was pulsing through her at the mention of this danger.
Arthur glared at her.
"I read."
"Alright, alright," sighed Merlin, "we should really go see this Guy Schmeltzer for ourselves."
"Now?" inquired Arthur. He was suddenly very conscious of his back. A strange feeling was creeping up and down his spine.
"No," assured Essie, now definitely catching on and sensing the tension in the air, "we should go home, it's much too dark and the hospital where he is is too far away. C'mon, let's go, I'm getting the creepy crawlies."
Arthur arched an eyebrow at her expression but nodded. He wanted nothing more but to be unconscious. Merlin also agreed solemnly.
They made their way back just as the sun set, casting them into almost pitch darkness. Essie had a small flashlight on her car keys, but it acted more like a beam of light for them to follow.
Eventually they made their way to the car (this time Arthur really did get caught up in Old Slate's clothesline) and they all got in, grateful for the cover other than the dark canopy of tree branches above them.
There was small panic as Essie momentarily couldn't start the car, and they were stuck there for about ten minutes simply trying to start it. In the end, Merlin and Arthur had to push it for it to get going, but eventually they achieved. The boys had to chase it downhill, as Essie cackled at their futile attempts to catch up and hop in.
When they finally got to the Lake and put Christie back in her shed, they took the jet boat, Essie's most prized possession, across. It was bumpy and cold. They all jogged into the house and threw themselves in. The clock on the wall said it was about 7:00 pm.
"I'm hungry," whined Arthur as he dropped onto the old white couch, sending a fine layer of dust into the air.
"I'm not surprised," snapped Essie, who dropped next to him, "Go make a bowl of cereal."
Arthur sighed, "I still don't get how that stuff qualifies as food. It's just little bits floating in milk."
Merlin chuckled as he sat across from them in the maroon armchair. Essie snorted.
"It's satisfying!"
"It's garbage."
She huffed, then quipped, "Fine. Starve."
Merlin shook his head, as Essie shot up suddenly, and announced, "I have to go do my rounds at the shop and replace the old with the new."
Arthur yawned.
"I think I'm going to turn in after a bit of grub"
"So early?"
"Yeah," he replied lifting himself up and making his way towards the pantry where there was cereal. Essie shrugged and turned past the kitchen out the back door into the night.
Merlin leaned back into the cushions as Arthur continued to make his cereal with much too much milk.
Merlin wondered what on earth the Tree of Life could be foreshadowing. Obviously, Arthur's return couldn't be too beneficial to the balance of order. The veil between the physical and spiritual worlds after death was thin and easily rippled. What if other things had escaped just as Arthur had passed over? Old Ancient, restless beings… beings powerful enough to cross?
What could that mean for them?