8. In Which We Observe Some Strange Trees and Travel by Flight
It's not easy to track a cat. It's especially difficult in a forest with an unbroken carpet of moss--and Enchanted Forest moss won't keep a full-grown human's footprint, much less a cat's--and such a rapid growth rate that even smells find it hard to stick.
I caught a whiff of a Fiddlesticks scent just north of Brandel's house, but I couldn't find anything past that; as I said previously, I am not a hound.
Sure, we called his name. Sure, we looked for his nonexistent footprints. Suffice to say, in vain. The options were to either wait for him or to go on, trusting he'd be okay. I myself was in no hurry to continue our trek toward the dangerous unknown when there was a perfectly good, cozy, and safe house-cavern-thing at our disposal.
That was when Olemer spotted something that changed my mind.
"What's wrong with that tree?"
Brandel and I turned to see where he was pointing, and I must say that before us was one of the more extraordinary things I have ever beheld.
One of the massive trees surrounding us was shrinking, or more specifically, becoming younger very quickly. As the trunk thinned the broad leaves shrank into buds, finally disappearing within the bark. Just as quickly, the tree diminished in height, changing from a giant of a hundred feet to a sprout just out of the ground, then vanishing completely into the mossy earth.
Obviously this was what Daystar had been talking about to Telemain when the quest was first decided upon.
In the gloomy distance I glimpsed an uprooted tree creeping across the ground on twisted roots, and I came to a quick decision.
"We've got to move on," I said. "The Forest must be losing magic very fast if the plague's spread all the way here."
"What about Fiddlesticks?" Olemer inquired.
"He can take care of himself; he's lived in the Forest his whole life. And besides, he's a cat," I added with a slightly arrogant smile.
"I believe I'll join you," Brandel said, then added in a lower voice, "Even a quest for a Royal Stick has got to be better than dying of boredom." Since this comment seemed to be directed to himself I refrained from inquiring further into his meaning, saying only, "We'd be glad to have you."
The problem would be reaching the clearing where the rest of the travelers were hopefully waiting. For all we knew it could be a couple days' walk away. I voiced this worry and was rewarded with a slow smile from Brandel.
"I had a feeling that roc would come in handy", and he started walking toward the said beast.
"Wait," I interjected sharply, "Come in handy...how?"
"Transportation," was the brief reply.
I began to regret my rash decision to allow him to come with us.
"No! No. You can't honestly expect us to ride that...that thing? It's a carnivorous monster!"
"Exactly." And the fire-witch dropped into his house, leaving me very confused and worried, not the best emotional combination for a cat.
He emerged a couple minutes later carrying a large hunk of meat over his shoulder. This he showed to the trapped roc, whose golden eyes widened at the sight.
"Are you sure that's wise?" I asked as the bird struggled fiercely to reach the meat.
Brandel ignored me and crept closer to the bird, speaking to it in a coaxing voice.
"Calm down. Calm down...I'll let you free if you don't attack..."
Olemer and I watched in astonishment as the fire-witch not only calmed the creature, but also negotiated a ride by means of the simple bribe of a piece of meat. Finally, without turning his head, he instructed us to jump onto the roc's back when he said--
"Now!" And the fire-ropes vanished, he threw the meat to the roc, and we jumped on its back. Brandel had kept one set of ropes to use as reigns of a sort.
"Oh wonderful! Brilliant bribing it with food, but what happens when it decides we're just as tasty?"
Brandel laughed. "I certainly can't tame that thing with food alone, though it must have been awfully hungry to have cooperated this far. The meat's spelled; I've had a concoction sitting around for a while that gives one power over any non-intelligent creature that consumes it. Quite convenient, actually."
"I can imagine," I muttered, rather embarrassed for not having thought of such a potion. Making it is a complex process, but not outside the abilities of the average witch. The downside is that it only lasts twenty-four hours.
Just then the last of the meat vanished down the roc's gullet and Brandel snapped the reigns. The sudden movement of the body under me almost tossed me off, but Olemer grabbed me and tucked me under his arm. Utterly undignified, I know, but it's not like I had a choice.
At first he roc had some trouble disentangling itself from the clutching branches, but after some twisting, jerking, struggling, and flapping, its monstrous wings came loose and we were airborne.
That was a sensation I hoped never to experience again. As my body rushed to great altitudes my stomach stayed behind; and—oh horror of horrors!—wind in my face! If cats were meant to fly...well, if cats were meant to fly they wouldn't be cats.
Needless to say, we flew north; it took about an hour to reach the border, during which time we gazed at the vast Forest below us, and I tried not to be motion-sick. The giant treetops were now reduced to the appearance of the moss that grew far beneath their leafy boughs. Occasionally a tiny piece of the green field would move or shrink from sight; we even spotted bits changing color from pink to yellow to blue to polka-dots. These sights became increasingly common the farther north we advanced.
When we finally reached the end of the Enchanted Forest and the wild expanses of the North, the roc landed and was instructed by Brandel to find food for itself and hurry back. The three of us scavenged for food at the edge of the Forest. Between the two of them Olemer and Brandel found some apparently non-enchanted roots and berries, perfectly good for humans, I suppose. My meal consisted of some more cat-friendly tidbits I collected...
When the roc returned we continued our flight, this time east since Brandel's house was somewhat west of the castle.
This second flight, while equally uncomfortable, was more interesting. On our left lay the Northern Kingdom, which I had never seen. It was mostly grass-covered plains, but farther west was a rocky area terminating in a cloud of fog, and north of the plains rose dark, craggy mountains looming over a long lake below. Straight ahead of us was the northernmost spur of the Mountains of Morning, which connected with the other mountain chain by low rolling hills.
I was so absorbed by the scenery and the fresh scent of the northern winds that we reached the clearing much sooner than I expected. There below us were a couple small figures and one rather larger figure, and Brandel guided the roc into a dive toward our companions.