II
As the two friends began their trip home, Min smiled. “We’ve done alright for ourselves. If we can find some more mushrooms on our way home this will prove to be the most profitable trip ever.”
Nik nodded, “Yeah, if we get home okay. I keep thinking about the attack Spindle warned us about.”
“Aw, you don’t think forest creatures will come against our people, do you?” Min looked up. “I mean they’ve stayed hidden for so long, why would they come out now? After all what can a few misguided fairies do even if they have a troll or two with them?”
Nik spun around hearing some rustling in the brush. A strong arm gripped his. A gnome, goblin, and a troll stepped out of the brush. The gnome spoke. “A few fairies and a couple of trolls, you say? No problem you say? Come with us, we’ll show you what you forest killers face, not that it will do you any good.”
Nik tore free from the troll’s grasp and reached for the reigns of the pony, but the goblin acted quicker and blocked his path. “Now where do you think you are going?” he croaked.
The troll with no Nik in hand seized Min instead. The gnome addressed him. “Now, Tungin, mind you these children are not for eating, at least not until we take them to the council and find out why they really are in these parts.”
The troll grunted and they set off at a rapid pace. Min and Nik became exhausted by the time they arrived at a stone tabletop up a rocky ascent above the forest. Here they were joined by several forest creatures, including gnomes, goblins, fairies that had not yet transformed into goblins, trolls, and a few dragons.
Nik and Min shivered as their captors dragged them onto the flat rock. The gnome addressed the gathering crowd. “Come, come around citizens of the forest. See what we bring you. Tree killers. Just look in their bags and you will find the fruit of their work.” He turned to Nik. “How many trees will die without their skin because you took it? If you had your way this part of the forest would become as the southern part–dead or dying.”
Nik pleaded. “We didn’t harm any living trees. Most of the bark we gathered is from an already fallen one. The rest is from vegetation that needed to be pruned anyway. We didn’t come here to do any harm. Our families need what we gathered for food.”
A tall man-like creature stepped onto the rock and stood next to the gnome. His fair face belied the evil look in his eyes. He glared at the young man. “No harm, you say? Just gathering things? Well, I, Raghorn the Great, say different. You no doubt are spying on us. You want to see how strong we are and perhaps find out what we are planning. Well, I’ll tell you this. It isn’t good for your people, the forest killers of the south.”
The hideous members of the crowd raised their voices as one. Min and Nik shrank as they roared. Raghorn raised his hands motioning for silence. “Now, now, my friends. Let’s not be too hasty.” He noticed the hungry look in the eyes of two trolls. “We’ll just put these children into safe keeping. No doubt they have not come alone. They must have handlers nearby who will come looking for them. That’s who we want. Take these two to the cave on the side of this hill and guard them well.”
The rest of the day and into the night Nik and Min huddled together in the cold cave. At one point, Raghorn stood in the doorway. Moon light accentuated his brutish and deformed features. As he stood there, he appeared to shrink to goblin-size. His few fair features gave way to the grotesque. Nik nudged Min. “I’d say our captor looks more like a goblin than a man.”
Raghorn looked in the direction the boy indicated and returned to his former height and looks. He left the mouth of the cave and Nik looked outside. Two gnomes and a dull-witted looking giant stood guard.
Nik returned to Min. “It looks like Raghorn has left us for the night. There are guards outside though, but they look kind of sleepy. Perhaps they will nod off and we can escape.”
Min shook her head. “But what about Molly. We can’t leave my pony here for some troll to eat.”
Nik answered. “We’ll just have to see about that. Better to lose a pony as hard as that is, than to lose ourselves though.”
But as it turned out they didn’t have to make that choice. Just after midnight a glow lit up the confines of the cave. A fairy hovered over them. Min squinted at the sight. “Spindle?”
“No,” said the newcomer. “I’m her sister, Tempest. I went back to where the militants had Spindle caged, but you had freed her. That’s more than what I could have done, the lemonwood would have weakened me as well.” She smiled. “But that’s done with, and a good deed deserves a favor in return. I have sprinkled fairy dust over the guards. They will not rouse no matter how much noise we make–but don’t make any. There’s the rest of the camp to consider.”
“But what about Molly?” asked Min. “I can’t bear the thought of leaving her behind.”
“She’s right here,” said Tempest. “The troll guarding her succumbed to fairy dust too. Now come quickly. We must get you far away from here before you are discovered missing. Most likely that would be at dawn.”
Nik and Min followed Tempest out of the cave where Molly stood waiting. They walked through the camp with Tempest sprinkling fairy dust on anything that stirred. Once back in the forest the children made a beeline south determining to be on familiar territory before first light. With Tempest to guide them with her light they made good time.
When the sun rose. Tempest ushered them to stop. “This is as far as I go,” she said. “You can make it from here. I don’t think Raghorn’s bunch will follow you now. They don’t want to show their hand yet. Just don’t forget what you have learned. Warn your people about the coming attack. Raghorn may reconsider if he finds you quite prepared..”
Nik asked, “But most people don’t believe in you magical creatures. But if I can just tell them when the attack is coming perhaps some will get ready.”
Tempest hovered above the children. “Expect Raghorn and his army on the second full moon from now.” She turned and flitted away.
Min turned to her companion. “Do you think anyone will believe us?”
As she spoke Tempest returned. “And one more thing,” the fairy said. There is a man in your village called Mocaraid by fairies but Johan in the world of men. He is a friend of the king of fairies. Warn him. He’ll know what to do.”
Tempest vanished from view. The children digested her advice.
Min pointed to where they last saw the fairy. She asked Nik, “What do you think will happen to her?”
The boy shook his head. “I don’t know, but she’s pretty resourceful. I think she’ll be okay.”
Upon their return to their village the children dropped off their load of nuts, pinecones, mushrooms, and bark at their homes. Min’s mother especially liked the birch bark. “This will go a long way to supplement our dwindling supply of wheat flour. I’ll set to it to dry and grind it right away. Plus, the mushrooms you brought will be a special treat.”
Nik’s mother accepted her share of the bounty saying, “You must have found a good spot. When can you go back for more?”
Nik answered, “I don’t know, Ma, if we can go back. There are evil things happening in the forest.
His mother shook her head. “It must not be too bad if you returned with all of this.” She busied herself about securing the stuff Nik brought her and would not hear anything about fairies, goblins, and trolls. “Those things are just old wives tales,” she said. “And I may be an old wife but I’m not holding to the old stories.”
Nik’s father would not listen either, and neither would Min’s. In fact, no one in the village paid any heed to their warnings that an attack from the North would come in two full moons. After speaking with the village mayor, Min turned to Nik with tears in her eyes. “I don’t get it,” she said. “No one will believe us even though we saw it with our own eyes. Raghorn and his army is coming, and our village will be swept away. What can we do?”
“We’re forgetting what Tempest told us.” Nik lifted his eyes. “Maybe there is someone who will listen. She said his name is Mocaraid, but I don’t have any recollection of anyone by that name.”
Min smiled. “I remember now. Tempest said he’d know what to do. But Mocaraid is the name the fairies call him. I think she said we’d know him by the name Johan.”
Nik looked into Min’s eyes. “Isn’t that the odd recluse that lives down by the river, or what used to be the river before the drought dried it up? Let’s search there.”
They had no trouble finding Johan stringing a net across the stream that had once been a roaring river. His ears perked up when the children mentioned their encounter with magical creatures. “So, I’m not the only one who believes the old tales. But I can’t blame people. They haven’t seen what I have.”
Nik looked into the bearded recluse’s eyes. He appeared to be the age of the boy’s father yet did not carry the sadness most adults in the community bore those days. “We wouldn’t have believed either if we had not seen what we saw. But we’ve tried to warn the village, and no one will listen.”
Johan stood with foot in the stream and one on dry land. We will have to make plans. There are more people than you think that still believe the old stories.”
Min smiled. “Legends, you mean.”
Johan shook his head. “Legends are just stories that have gotten old. There are still some of us that remember the deeds of the past. Come into my hut and I’ll tell you who they are. Perhaps with their help we can convince enough folk so that old Raghorn will not have as easy a time as he expects.”
Johan and the children went about the village, telling about the impending attack. Most refused to listen to what they considered fairy tales–bedtime tales for children to get them to behave (“if you don’t do as I say the goblins will come and get you”). Only a few remembered how things had once been and were able to convince those closest to them. By the first full moon Johan had a small group of believers ready to defend their homes. Min’s and Nik’s families had come around and now stood with the defenders.
The following full moon approached. Johan gathered all that would come in an enclave of rocks near but outside the village. The stalwart men, women, and children were loath to leave their homes unprotected but here they might be able to save themselves.
Johan looked at the ragtag crew of the faithful knowing their number to be far too small to stop the coming tide. He made one last ditch effort to confront Bliney, the village mayor in front of the village hall. “Look, whether you believe or not, war is coming, and our village will be swept away. Even if you don’t believe it makes sense for you to come with us with as many people as you can and defend our rock fortress. If we are wrong, you’ve lost nothing and can go on about your business, but if we are right much can be saved.”
But Mayor Bliney waved the good man off, the plume in his hat rippled in the breeze. “Don’t you talk to me about common sense, you who lives as a hermit by the river and claims to have talked with fairies that don’t exist, I might add. Go away, you will get no help from me in your fantasies.”
The appointed day grew closer. No more citizens joined the small band of defenders. The village continued as it had with business as usual. Johan sent scouts into the forest looking for evidence of any advance of the coming army. These stalwart men spotted wolves overrunning abandoned farms. They confronted the mayor with the news. The proud man held up his nose. “We’ve dealt with a few wolves before. You’re telling us nothing new.”
When the scouts returned to Johan, he shook his head. “What are these people thinking? They will be swept away and us too if we don’t find help somewhere.”
The friend of fairies called Min and Nik to him. “You two were faithful in telling us about what is to happen. Now I have a job for you. I will tell you the secret way to fairyland. You must go exactly as I say and bring this broach with you.” He held out a broach of fine gemstones worth many times the total value of all the possessions of the people in that valley. “With this broach you will gain entrance to that fair land and even to the throne of its king.”