Chapter 17
The morning dawned bright and cheery and Fiyero and Elphaba were up with the sun. They needed to be on their way to the location that the spell book had given. Elphaba wondered why the book was so vague but then she figured that it was another layer of protection should the book fall into the wrong hands. The spells were protected by the fact that the text was in the same language as the Grimmerie, so it made sense to hide the location in plain English writing by obscuring it another way.
"So we are to ride on the broom?" Fiyero asked nervously.
"You can fly with Glinda in her bubble if you prefer. Or I suppose that Avantador wouldn't mind a rider," she smiled slightly. He nodded and grabbed his trusty rifle from the corner of the room with one hand and her broom with the other.
"Shall we?" He asked as he handed her the cleaning implement.
"We shall. Glinda promised to meet us by Avantador," Elphaba smiled and took the broom. The two then headed out the door to their room and down to the front door of the Palace. They exited to find Avantador and the blonde chitchatting.
"Ready?" The dragon asked.
"If you don't mind giving me a ride," Fiyero said.
"Of course, your Majesty. It would be an honor," Avantador bowed his head before getting into a position that would allow the Prince to climb onto him and get into a safe position.
"Lead the way, Princess," Avantador said, once his passenger was as secure as he could be. Elphaba nodded and took to the skies on her broom. Glinda followed in her bubble and the dragon brought up the rear.
They flew over the nearby mountains and approached the forest on the other side. Elphaba paused to hover and cast a location spell for any source of magic that was not part of their party. The little ball of energy that the spell had created zoomed off and quickly the group was in pursuit of it.
The sun moved across the sky and by noon they were surprised to see the ball stop and suddenly disappear. The group halted and Elphaba looked around. All she could see for miles were more trees. She looked at Glinda who shrugged and Avantador suggested that they head beneath the trees. The green woman quickly clarified for the dragon that the reason both she and Glinda were confused as to what to do next was because the ball should not have vanished like that. Ordinarily it would only stop upon reaching the final destination and then disappear when told to by the person who cast the spell.
"You spoke of a spell that hides the location we are seeking. Perhaps the spell created a magic wall of some sort," he shrugged.
"It's possible. I do feel the magic that is nearby," Glinda spoke up.
"As do I. The only time that I got this feeling though was when Morrible or our new Wizard were close by. It's more ominous than the feeling I get when you're near Lin," Elphaba said.
"The Witch of the South was a good witch," Fiyero reminded them.
"Perhaps so but whatever hides in this forest may be tainted by the Wizard and then therefore by Morrible," his wife explained.
"Point well taken," he swallowed.
"Perhaps it's best we descend and go by foot. The element of surprise may already be out the window," Elphaba suggested.
"Agreed," Avantador said. Quickly they descended through the trees to the forest floor. The tall trees and their long branches covered in leaves and needles blocked out a lot of sunlight despite the fact that the day was at its midpoint.
"Did it get cold or is it just me?" Glinda shivered once out of her bubble. Elphaba cast an illumination spell to give them better light and she shivered as well.
"It's the feeling of evil," she murmured as she took in the sights in front of them as they moved on. Moss grew everywhere, instead of grass. The silence that reigned was only broken by their footsteps. No animal or insect called out or moved amongst the dead leaves on the forest floor.
"I have half a mind to burn this place to the ground," Avantador said, as he crawled on all fours. He scooped up Glinda and put her next to Fiyero before reaching for Elphaba and doing the same thing.
"Perhaps it is best you stay atop me since we cannot see what lies beneath our feet," he explained. He made a valid point as the leaves moved with every step of his large feet, disturbing the forest floor and showing patches of what they all hoped was mud. It looked more like tar and no one wanted to find out what exactly it was. Using his large lung capacity, Avantador blew a breath out and the leaves and debris moved showing the moss covered ground beneath.
"Excellent thinking. We also have a better vantage point from up here," Elphaba patted his shoulder.
"It stretches on for miles. Do you really think the Wizard was here?" Fiyero wanted to know, thinking that decay like this did not happen overnight.
"It probably didn't look like this when he first came through. The evil that brews inside him now could have caused this. The spell that the Witch of the South would have cast, would have made this look like any regular part of the forest, otherwise people would be too curious and venture inside anyway. When he transformed into an actual Wizard, he would have had the power to manipulate the existing spell without even knowing it, especially if it's the manifestation spell I found in the book," Elphaba explained. She had brought the book with her in her satchel and was beginning to think it was a very good idea.
"Can you manipulate the spell to change the scenery?" Glinda asked.
"You must step foot in the place the original spell was cast. Which means that we need to find the house first," the green girl shivered again.
"Oh joy," the blonde swallowed hard. They moved slowly and surely through the forest, remaining silent after their last conversation in hopes of hearing something or noticing something but as the sun sank down further and the natural shade of the evening fell, they all couldn't help the worry that rose in their stomachs.
Suddenly Elphaba slapped Avantador's back and he froze in place. She lifted a finger and pointed in the direction in which they were heading. At first no one could hear what she was hearing but soon they realized just what they were hearing, hoof beats.
"Something wicked this way comes!" Elphaba shouted.
To Be Continued...