CHAPTER NINE:
INTO THE TREETOPS
The distant roar was unfamiliar to Lana, but it left a chill in her bones nonetheless. She glanced up at the gargantuan tree next to them.
"What are you waiting for?" the boy said exasperated as he lifted Berda to her feet. "Start climbing!"
Lana snapped to him and extended her hand. "First, I want my cloak back," she demanded. The boy may have freed her and Berda from the Wenn's poison, but she couldn't bring herself to completely trust him just yet.
Unsurprisingly, the boy was just as stubborn as she was. "You won't need your cloak in the Wennbar's stomach," he growled. "But fine, if you want to die with your dignity."
He gave a whistle, and Kree the raven was instantly above them, struggling to carry Lana's cloak in his beak. He dropped it, and Lana grasped the fabric to her chest, relieved that her mother's last gift was back with her.
On the boy's shoulder, Filli the furry creature squealed. "I know, Filli," the boy said, his face going pale. "I can smell it too!"
Lana took a whiff of the air and grimaced. The foul stench reminded her of filth and decay, not uncommon in the streets of Del. But this scent was older and fouler than anything Lana knew.
"We need to get up there, now!" the boy hissed.
"He's right, Lana," Berda said, wincing as she straightened up. "We stand a better chance up there than down here." She beckoned to the tree before them.
Lana looked at her friend, remembering the deal they made the previous night. That, along with the smell of death, was enough to convince her.
Without complaining this time, Lana began climbing the tree. There was no time to fasten her cloak back on, so she swung it over her shoulder. The roots of the tree alone were enormous, so by the time the three of them started scaling the trunk, the roar had grown unmistakably closer.
Above them, Kree cawed in alarm.
"Faster!" the boy shouted. "The Wennbar can't climb, but it can stretch its neck! Go as high as you can!"
Lana scowled, forcing her already stinging palms to grab one crevice in the bark after another. Despite the dark of the night, she could still feel her way along the surface of the tree for something to support her weight.
She soon realized that the higher she went, the colder it got. Lana shivered violently, her fingers going stiff, but she kept telling herself that dying from cold would be a far lesser fate than being eaten by the Wennbar.
"Just a little further!" the boy called after her.
Lana didn't realize how high up she was until finally, she reached one of the massive branches. It was as big as one of the alleyways in Del, albeit far more open. Lana groaned as she pulled herself up, relief flooding through her groaning arms and legs. But then another roar broke the silence, followed by a loud stomping noise that shook the entire tree.
Panicking, Lana looked over the edge. "Berda!" she called, reaching out her hand.
Her companion took it and Lana pulled until Berda landed safely on the branch with her.
The boy quickly came up beside them before turning towards the great expanse of the dark forest. "Here it comes!" he whispered.
Lana and Berda paused as something massive and grey emerged down on the forest floor.
The thing had a massive body, fat and wrinkly like a rotten fruit. Four clawed feet as thick as the trees left deep imprints in the ground, and a long tail swung back and forth in a threatening motion. The creature's skin was sleek and shiny, even in the dim light of the moon. It had a long scaly neck – as the boy suggested earlier – and a pointed head with snapping jaws that reminded Lana of sharp boulders. But what startled Lana the most was the absence of any eyes. Save for its mouth, the surface of the monster's face was smooth and reflective like water.
"The Wennbar," Lana shuddered.
The Wenn had eyes that, alone, frightened Lana to the core. Their master's size and strength would no doubt haunt her dreams for a long time.
The beast shifted its head along the ground upon which the group had previously stood. It let out a deep growl, as if frustrated, and began clawing at the earth and knocking its head against the tree.
"What's it doing?" Berda asked, struggling to keep her balance.
"It's looking for its offering," the boy answered, crouching low. "It knows that you're gone, and it feels cheated of its meal."
"It's looking...?" Lana gulped. "So... it can see us?"
"It hasn't yet," the boy said, glancing at her worryingly. "But the moment it looks up, it will. And if we try to run or hide, it'll know we're here and bash its head against the trees until we fall into its waiting mouth."
Lana felt colder than she already was. With trembling hands, she fumbled with her cloak and tried to pull it back on.
Berda was at her side instantly. "We'll say warmer if we huddle together," she explained, shivering as she took the cloak in her own hands and flung over both of them. Lana didn't argue and kneeled in front of her friend.
Then Berda glanced at the boy and extended her free hand. "You too," she said. "Quickly!"
The boy blinked at her incredulously, but Lana could tell that his interest in the warm cloak he had tried to steal overwhelmed his interest in the Wennbar. Filli was purring at him as well, encouraging him.
Finally, the boy sighed and scooted over to sit beside Lana. Then Berda pulled both ends of the cloak around the three of them, enveloping them in immediate warmth. Lana smiled, and for a split second she thought she felt something foreign envelop her as well, like a protective shield.
Below them, the Wennbar stretched its head towards the branch were the three partners were kneeling, and they all stiffened. But to their surprise, the beast didn't give any indications that it had noticed them. Rather, it kept glancing around, growing more and more aggravated than ever.
The Wennbar let out a loud snarl, and Lana trembled at the sight of its gaping jaws, which revealed webs of drool and a monstrous fat tongue. Then the Wennbar lowered its head and turned away from the tree.
At the same time, swarms of glowing red spots emerged from the darkness.
"The Wenn," the boy whispered. "They think the Wennbar's eaten its fill, and now they've come for the scraps."
Lana recognised the red eyes. But it wasn't until they kneeled before the Wennbar that she saw what they truly were: ugly white husks that looked like misshapen human bodies, their arms curled under into stingers. Instead of a neck and a head, each Wenn had only two tiny appendages upon which their glowing red eyes were perched.
The Wennbar turned to its servants, snarling angrily and stamping its massive feet. The Wenn whimpered fearfully. Then two of their order bravely stepped forward and kneeled before their master.
Without warning, the Wennbar snatched the two volunteers up with his teeth and flung them high into the air. They fell with a unified shriek into the great beast's mouth, and Lana looked away as it began chomping at its newfound food hungrily.
Even Berda looked nauseous. "Now I know why they have to leave food for it," she said wearily.
Next to Lana, the boy and his furry friend stirred. "What I don't get is why it didn't make a grab for us," he said with both relief and bewilderment. "It was almost as if it couldn't see us."
Lana instantly recalled the words her mother spoke upon giving her the cloak:
This is no ordinary cloth. It is... very special. May it shield you from unfriendly eyes.
Perhaps Jarra had woven more than just her strength and love into the fabric. Lana made a mental note to thank her mother excessively once the quest was over.
The Wennbar finished its meal, and it stomped back into the forest, the Wenn begrudgingly trailing after their master.
Once they had all vanished, Berda removed the cloak and gave it back to Lana. Then she turned to the boy, suspicion narrowing her brow once more. "Perhaps now would be a good time to tell us why you changed your mind," she told him. "What was that stuff you gave us anyway?"
The boy glared at her. "An antidote for the Wenn's venom," he replied casually. "The last vial I had left, I might add. You Delians have a funny way of saying say 'thank you'."
Lana was flabbergasted. "You gave up your last bit of antidote to save us? Why?"
"Like I said before, the elder tree told me your names and that you weren't servants of the Shadow Queen," the boy explained. "Once I knew that, I couldn't just leave you to be eaten, now could I?"
Lana finished fastening her cloak back on before glancing curiously at the boy. "Are you telling me that you can speak to trees?"
"Of course!" the boy said, glancing between the two women. "Can't everyone?"
The blank expressions on their faces answered his question.
"You are Berda and Lana of Del," the boy confirmed. "My name is Jason, and these two are Filli and Kree. You two are on an important quest to save Deltora, and your cloak," he spoke directly to Lana now, "was woven with the magic of a mother's love."
Lana gawked at him.
Berda seemed perplexed as well. "How do you know about the quest?!" she demanded.
Jason groaned. "For that last time, the tree told me everything!" he bellowed. "Why won't you believe me? Don't they have any trees in Del?"
Lana held up her hands. "We're sorry, it's just... well..." She didn't think it would bring him any comfort by saying that talking trees were nothing short of fairy tales.
Jason loosed a long breath. "It doesn't matter. At least the Wennbar's gone back to its cave now."
That really got Lana's attention. "The Wennbar lives in a cave?"
Jason nodded. "It comes out every night to feed. Then it returns back to its cave to rest during the day."
Lana and Berda exchanged a knowing glance. A cave guarded by a hideous monster sounded like the perfect place to hide one of the seven gems.
"Then that settles it," Berda said. "Tomorrow at nightfall, we'll wait for the Wennbar to go back out hunting. Then Lana, you and I will sneak inside its cave and search it."
Jason stared at them. "I've searched it myself. There's nothing in that cave but bones and stink." He then narrowed his eyes. "What kind of quest are you on anyway?"
Lana bit her lip. "I'm afraid we can't tell you that," she replied with an apologetic look.
Berda stepped in for her. "But we can tell you this: the object we seek is hidden in the most dangerous spot in the Forests of Silence. The Wennbar's cave fits the description we were told perfectly."
Jason stared at the companions blankly. Then, to their surprise, he burst out laughing. "The most dangerous... you actually think... Hah!" He guffawed. "I would've thought that you, Berda, were at least smarter than that!"
Berda's mouth tightened, the sight of it almost making Lana giggle.
Jason gasped for breath and grinned mischievously. "Don't you know that there are three forests in the Forests of Silence?" he asked. "We're at the tip of one of them, and there are far worse things than the Wennbar in the others that would make even your hairs stand on end!"
Lana's determination faltered. If this strange thief was even half true, then she and Berda had barely scratched the surface of this accursed wood.
Kree's soothing "Kraa!" broke through her dismal thoughts.
"The coast is clear," Jason translated before walking along the massive branch. "Come on, our nest is just down this way."
Lana realized a moment later that the "nest" Jason mentioned was nothing more than a tiny tree house.
Their robber-turned-rescuer led them to a quiet, concealed spot in the high canopy. The entirety of the walls and flooring was made with wooden twigs and reeds stringed together, with leafy branches for a ceiling. There was a blanket laid out in one of the corners and a series of bowls and jugs in another. The scent of pine and tree sap was quite welcoming to Lana, given their encounter with the decayed Wennbar.
Despite its simplicity, it really did look like a place to call home.
Jason strode casually to the corner with all of his stores. "Make yourselves comfortable," he insisted. "I've got food." He tossed both his guests a small fruit. It reminded Lana of the apples from the orchard in Del, but this one was plumper and the skin was soft and rubbery.
Lana almost didn't notice that Jason was watching her until she glanced up.
"It's not poisoned, in case you're wondering," he said as he sat down. "I just thought you might be hungry."
Lana was happy that her parents raised her to be courteous. She took a spot on the floor and then, with Jason still watching her, took a cautious bite from the fruit. The juice ran down her chin, and it was so tart that she scrunched her cheeks, but it was the best thing she ever tasted.
Jason smiled and tossed a bunch of berries to Filli and Kree. Unfortunately, Filli started hogging the food to herself, and Kree pecked at her in irritation.
Jason only rolled his eyes. "Don't mind them," he told the two companions. "We don't usually get any guests around here." He picked up a jug of water and started filling three mugs.
Berda sat down next to Lana, already devouring her own fruit. As they ate and drank in silence, Lana suddenly felt grateful that this boy – this thief who only stole to survive – was kind enough to share his food and shelter with two complete strangers. Not only that, but Jason had sacrificed his only remedy against the Wenn's poisonous stingers when he could have easily just left Lana and Berda to die. Lana's mistrust in Jason slowly faded, and his theft of her mother's cloak seemed like a distant memory.
Berda finally broke the silence with an unexpected question: "Where did you get all these supplies, Jason?"
Jason leaned back against the wall. "Most of it has been here ever since I was born," he replied. "I swiped the rest from the remains of Grey Guards who were devoured by the Wennbar."
"Like that knife you carry?" Berda asked, pointing to the small intricate weapon strapped to the back of Jason's belt.
Lana never noticed the knife before, and she was starting to grasp the fact that the former palace guard was more observant than she imagined.
"Actually," Jason said, patting the knife, "this belonged to my mother. It's all I have left of her now."
Lana kindly passed the remains of her fruit to Kree, who pecked at it eagerly. "Jason," she finally said, "were you born here, in the Forests of Silence?"
Jason nodded. "Sixteen years ago and counting," he said.
"That's the same age as me!" Lana exclaimed.
"And your mother?" Berda enquired. "What happened to her?"
Lana turned to her companion, worried that she was prying too much.
But Jason appeared unfazed by her question, despite the gleam of sorrow Lana caught in his eyes. It was something she saw every day, in the eyes of those who lost something special to the Shadow Queen.
"When I was seven years old," Jason began, "I went down to the stream to fetch water while my mother and father were hunting. We lived in a small house at the time, much bigger than this place," he indicated to the nest they sat in. "When I finished getting the water, I noticed a column of smoke coming from the direction of our house. I ran back only to find the whole place on fire, and my parents were nowhere to be seen."
Lana felt hollow all of a sudden.
Jason continued: "I searched all night until finally, I found my parents being led away... by Grey Guards," he said with contempt. "My father noticed me right away and signaled me to stay hidden in the bushes. So I did what I was told. I thought if I waited like my father told me to, he and my mother would come back and find me." Jason closed his eyes. "But they never did. I've been living alone here ever since."
Filli sighed next to him. Jason patted her head affectionately.
"I'm so sorry," Berda said, her eyes downcast. "I had no idea."
Jason shrugged. "I have Filli and Kree now, so it's not so bad," he said. "I still miss my parents, but they wouldn't have wanted me to drown myself in my own tears for them."
Lana was willing to bet that Jason hadn't cried in a very long time, probably for years. "They knew you would be able to survive on your own," she insisted. "I mean, you built this whole place by yourself, didn't you? And you have your mother's knife so, in a way, she helped you learn to defend yourself."
Jason stared at her with eyes alit with something that looked like empathy. "I guess it sounds better when you put it that way," he said with a smile. "Truth be told, I never would have lived this long if I hadn't remembered what my parents taught me."
Berda straightened her posture. "On behalf of the people of Del, I thank you, Jason, for your kindness and generosity," she declared with a soft grin. "Thanks to you, Lana and I can continue our quest to save all of Deltora."
Jason's expression became sombre. "Don't thank me just yet," he said. "If this quest of yours leads you to where I think you're going, then you would have been better off being eaten by the Wennbar."
Lana gulped, her blood going cold again. She was almost afraid to ask, "Why? What is this place you're mentioning?"
Jason looked out through the open door and into the eerie night. "The trees call it The Dark," he said apprehensively.
Filli shivered and rolled into a protective ball. Kree, who was still eating at Lana's left-over fruit, stopped dead in his meal.
Berda didn't look so intimidated. "The Dark?" she asked.
"Don't be so skeptical of the name," Jason urged. "It's the centre of the Forests of Silence. Nothing good or beautiful ever grows there. I came pretty close once to the edge of The Dark, and I could immediately sense there was something evil and treacherous lurking in there. The trees who remember it well say that an evil guardian dwells in The Dark, protecting something powerful and ancient."
Lana gasped. "A guardian?"
Berda perked up at once. "Are you certain? And you're sure that it's guarding something?"
"That's what the trees told me," Jason said, noting his guest's brave demeanour. "Whatever it is, it's older and fouler than the Wennbar, and even the trees fear it." He eyed Lana once again, his unease betraying him. "And believe it or not, that's the last place you ever want to go."
Lana was about to object – to tell him that it was the one place they had to go – when she heard a familiar, deafening roar not far below them.
Jason cursed and leapt to his feet. "You're kidding me! I thought it had its fill!" he complained.
Lana and Berda met each other's eyes with alarm.
The Wennbar was back!
