Chapter 5 Part 2

They traveled without incident until nightfall. Avery commanded everyone into the trees. He explained that the poison gas had been heavy. It had to be or it would drift up above the trees and disperse. That was how he knew that climbing above the mist would keep them safe.

They were almost too late in their climb. The last person up, Armegon, had to ride upwards in the darkness. Blankets were distributed and they bundled up together; a fire was not advised in the tree tops.

The cool night passed slowly and when morning light returned, Avery was the first to emerge. He urged the others to prepare to strike their camp as he climbed even higher into the tree. He disappeared from view, obscured by the thick foliage.

By the time the rest of them were on the ground again, Avery dropped down rapidly swinging hand to hand and limb to limb.

"Well," Armegon asked with muffled voice as he adjusted his mask, "what did you see?"

"Not much," Avery replied. "There’s nothing but tree tops for leagues." Ruk passed the ranger the last pack and Avery shouldered the load. He looked around for a moment then started off again whistling as he went. The others followed faithfully.

That afternoon, darkness fell much sooner than they would have expected. Gradually the light was blacked out by the canopied trees. Avery led them onward still as the light, though still dim was nevertheless present enough to make slow progress.

Finally the night began to fall. It was quick and ruthless. One moment they were following the person in front of them and then suddenly they could see nothing at all.

Avery called out and reminded everyone that Armegon and he could see them by their body heat. He bade them remain calm and still until they could get some light. While Armegon prepared a torch, Avery took a rope and jumped up into a tree.

Moments followed and the spark of flint and steel ignited the tender on the torches head. Within seconds, the others were closing in on the beacon and waiting for the rope to drop.

Avery tied the rope off and announced that it was secure. He lowered the other end and began exploring the tree. Again as before the limbs and vines were so intertwined that it looked as if a carpet of greenery spread out connecting tree to tree. A thought played in his mind as he set to the task of helping the others into the tree limbs. The mostly obscured glimmer of the small torch flame at the ground level was the only light source left. When only Armegon remained, the mage extinguished the torch and allowed himself to be drawn into the boughs as well.

They talked very little as they bundled up for another chilly night. The lack of fire in the trees was beginning to be more than just an inconvenience. Avery spent his entire watch toying with an idea, and asked Ruk to wake him as soon as it was light.

The minotaan took the second watch and assured the ranger he would do so. He was not concerned for the lack of sleep they were getting as the days were short due to the low light level.

When the twilight returned, Ruk woke Avery, who set about the task of gathering some vines and twigs. He urged Ruk to climb to the ground and start a fair sized fire. "We could use a hot breakfast," he explained, "and I have an idea I want to follow."

The others woke soon as the smell of cooked food and hot broth floated up into their arboreal camp. Ganatar was lowered to the ground where Ruk was waiting. The others followed quickly afterward like a flock of vultures on a week old carcass, they descended upon the meal.

Avery showed up about an hour after leaving. He carried a stack of vine and stick weavings. Armegon frowned as Avery sat. "Snow shoes?" the mage asked.

"Not exactly," Avery answered. The objects were a cross of stout sticks with vines woven in and about them. Attached to the sticks were several long strips of canvas windings.

Avery set them on the ground. "Let's call them tree shoes."

"For walking across the intertwined limbs in the trees?" Ultrecht guessed.

"But there are only four," Ruk noted.
"Only one of us lacks the bipedal dexterity to walk among the tree branches," Avery answered.

At this Ganatar's eyes widened. "Now wait a minute. I will consent to sleeping in trees because of poison gas, on the ground, but surely you do not expect me to walk through the branches like an ape."

"Why not?" Avery asked. "With these on your feet, you hoofs won't poke through the gaps in the foliage. You will be just as sure footed as we are."

The unicorn nickered worriedly. "I should have stayed on the island," he said.

"We can arrange for you to be returned," Ultrecht replied dryly.

"No thanks," Ganatar submitted. "I'll do it."

"Good," Avery beamed. “There is better light up there and we can see farther. I think we’ll travel faster and surer between the lower limbs and the upper greenery."

After breakfast, the shoes were placed on the unicorn's feet and secured with the canvas straps. Ganatar complained that they felt much too strange for his comfort, but said nothing else negative. When he was hauled up into the tree again, he pranced about carefully expecting his legs to push their way through the laced vines and limbs. The shoes were a credit to their maker, however, and the unicorn found that he was able to walk if not easily, with some confidence.

The others joined Ganatar, Avery and Ruk in the tree and they began the day's journey moving through the trees on the false carpet of flora. Though the pseudo-ground they walked on swayed beneath their feet, they found that it was no worse than the swaying of a ship at sea, and soon they were well adjusted to the motion--all, that is except Ultrecht, who came down with a bout of motion sickness about midday.

The foliage continued to grow thicker and at the end of the day, the interwoven branches and vines had totally obscured any view of the ground at all. Avery took a few moments to descend to the ground via a hole cut in the false floor with Ruk's ax. He reported that the ground was cloaked in deep darkness and that there was absolutely no underbrush. He did, however find an assortment of tasty mushrooms that made a cold, but delicious meal.

The carpet of vine and wood had gotten sufficiently thick to minimize the swaying and rocking that had earlier made Ultrecht part company with his breakfast. So as they made their camp, Armegon hypothesized about how they might go about keeping a fire in the trees without setting fire to the whole forest.

"If we spread a blanket and cover it with dirt, we should be able to build a small fire on it," the mage suggested.

Avery rubbed his chin. The beard was getting fairly full. He had not shaved in a long time. Nikki was going to be peeved about that. She did not like the facial hair; it was so un-elfish.

"You’re probably right," Avery decided after giving Armegon's suggestion some thought. "Tomorrow night we’ll stop early so that we can try it out."

Armegon sighed and nodded. He covered himself in his blanket and rolled over to sleep with his head on his backpack.

Ruk, Ultrecht and Ganatar too retired, with Ruk expecting to be waken later for his watch. That left Calista and Avery awake. The girl sat next to the ranger and huddled up to him to keep warm. Avery grinned in the darkness and fondly rubbed her back. "It won't be long," he assured her. "Soon we’ll have the last Tower powered up. From those tapestries, Ultrecht thinks that when all four Towers are on line, the central mountain will hold enough magic to open the doorway back home."

"And to Sam," Calista whispered.

"And to Sam," Avery agreed.

"I’m sorry he treated you so badly," Calista apologized thinking about Sam's attitude in those last few days.

"It wasn’t his fault," Avery reminded her. "If you recall, I trapped him one night and he got skunk musk all over him."

Calista giggled. "Yes," she replied. "That night he came to me more tenderly than he had in a long time."

"That was because we had made him undress and leave his clothes out in the shack. That buckle that Tyson had given him was left behind too. That was what was making him keep such a foul disposition."

"Do you think he’ll be okay?" Calista's question was direct and to the point.

Avery hugged her closely. "We’ll do everything possible," he said. "Ultrecht and Armegon are very good with magic. And I know a few tricks of my own. We’ll get him back."

Calista was silent for a long time. "Avery?"

"Yes?"

"Why is it that you hardly ever use your sword?"

Avery breathed deeply and leaned back. "Cal," he said at last. "I'll let you in on something secret. The sword is a living thing. It’s very much like the gods who rule your world, but it has its own set of rules. The sword believes strictly in law and order for the good of all."

"Even though we’re doing good by helping to free Ganatar, we’re invading territory that is not ours and fighting against enemies who are doing what they were placed here to do. Remember the ogres? I let you speak to the sword then. It explained it all."

"But I thought you had control of the sword," Calista objected.

"I do," Avery agreed, "but to force the sword to do my bidding requires that I fight a mental combat with it every time. That’s too much of a distraction. It’s better that I fight with a staff than fight the sword as well as an enemy."

Calista nodded and leaned back against her conversational partner. "Do you miss Nikki?"

Avery smiled at the thought of his soul's compliment. The auburn hair and the sparkling blue-violet eyes dotted by the freckles and the tiny upturned nose hovered in the darkness in front of his eyes. His heart skipped a few beats and he sighed in response.

"Nikki," he whispered.

"At least you two shared some moments before we left," Calista sobbed.

Avery wrapped the young woman to him closely. "There there," he crooned. "This too shall pass and when we get Sam back, it’ll be so much the better."

Calista sobbed against Avery's cloak until she fell asleep. When she awoke the next morning, the halfelf was still holding her, but he too was asleep. Ruk was moving about and packing his bag. When Calista released herself from Avery's arms, the ranger's eyes snapped open. She gazed deeply into the solid amber eyes--no whites, no pupils, just yellow. "Thanks," she whispered and then went to pack her own things.

That morning, before they left, Avery climbed to the top of another tree. When he returned to the others, he reported that in the distance was a cluster of giant trees. He suspected that they might prove worth investigating, especially since they were in their line of travel.

"Any sign of a Tower?" Ultrecht asked.

"I didn't see any structures," Avery replied.

They walked for several hours. Ganatar confidently made his way in spite of the make shift shoes that hindered his feet. They stopped for a brief rest about midday. The vines had gotten much thicker. They draped down from the treetops like curtains.

During the break Calista munched on some of the mushrooms Avery picked the previous evening and dozed quietly next to Ganatar who did likewise. Armegon and Ultrecht talked while Ruk fussed over his backpack. Avery snored softly leaning against the trunk of a tree.

"What the...?!" Ruk stared at his feet. A vine was wrapped tightly around one of his ankles and a second vine was in the process of doing likewise.

Armegon glanced around at the sound and, seeing the distressed minotaan, leped to his feet and sounded the alarm. Armegon yanked his dagger from his belt and ran to the rescue.

Slashing at the vines, he freed Ruk's bound legs, but found himself becoming entangled in turn. Vines wrapped about his waist and a second strong strand of plant life bound his knife hand. Panic began to grip Armegon as he felt the additional tightness in his throat where yet a third vine coiled about his neck.

Avery was there sweeping with his own dagger slashing Armegon free from the strangulation hold. Then he sliced at two other vines that were moving against him.
Armegon barely heard Avery's shouts, but through the dim vision his air starved brain saw Ruk cutting deeply at the wooden floor that had been their home throughout the day. The great ax sliced the carpet open and Ultrecht and Claista set the ropes to lower Ganatar. Ruk swept up Armegon and carried him over to the ropes while Avery dealt with the vines.

"I’m okay," Armegon said as his head cleared. Ruk put the mage down, and Armegon shinnied down the rope.

Avery and Ruk traded places. The great ax actually seemed to scare the vines and Avery shouted that there must be a central root of the plant somewhere. He And Ultrecht looked for the main body of the plant monster while Armegon checked out the area below.
At Armegon's assurance that the ground was safe, Avery and Ruk lowered Ganatar while Ultrecht and Calista kept watch for the vines The plants seemed indecisive. When Ganatar reached the ground, The others quickly followed until they were all on the ground.

The forest floor was bare of underbrush. In the dim light filtering down through the hole Ruk had cut, they could see the new environment. The ground was littered with bones of some animals or other unfortunate travelers. "It is really bleak down here," Ultrehct said.

"Look at it on the bright side, those vines probably don't grow down here," Calista said cheerfully.

"You're probably right," Ultrecht said, "but there aren't any bright sides down here. Did you forget about the poison gas?"

Calista denied that. "No, but we can always tie rags around our faces."

Avery dropped from a branch with the ropes. "We need to cut torches," he said. "Without that fog we’ll actually be able to travel better down here. But we’ll need some light sources."

They cut some dead wood for the torches and then lit one of them. The light from the fire showed a colorless world of trunks climbing into the ceiling of foliage like columns holding up the roof of a building.

"Well we aren't getting anywhere by standing around," Avery said shouldering his pack. He took off weaving between two trees with the torch in hand. The others followed.
It was definitely a different style of travel. Ganatar seemed more than a little relieved. He was glad to be rid of the shoes and the trek in the darkness was no worse than simply traveling at night.

Calista admitted that it was like Ganatar had said, but she also felt that the lack of life on the forest floor was unnerving. She kept looking over her shoulder as if expecting something wicked to step out from behind a tree trunk at any moment. Nothing did of course, and after about an hour, she turned her thoughts to more pleasant memories to pass the time.

They continued several more hours until Avery called a halt to their march. "Let's quit for the night," he suggested. "I'll climb up and get a bearing while there’s still light, and we can start out tomorrow."

They gathered more wood for the fire. On the bare earth there was no reason they could not build one and it would certainly be welcome.

While the camp was established Avery mounted the lower limbs and ascended into the dark heights. More by feel than sight, he made his way up to the canopy. Avery anchored himself with one hand and drew his dagger. Several long moments of work later and he had a hole cut open enough so that he could see light above.

Cautiously he poked his head through the portal. The world above was devoid of the strange vines that had attacked them earlier. With a grunt and gritted teeth he pulled himself through.

Avery walked to another tree trunk and continued on upward until his head emerged from the tops of the trees. What he saw stirred his blood. They were very close. A stand of trees towering above their colleagues by hundreds of meters. The Tower was made of living wood. It was no more than half a day's journey.

Avery returned to the awaiting faces below. "The good news is that we’re about a half day's distance from the Tower."

"And the bad news?" Armegon asked.

Avery frowned. "I didn't say there was any bad news," he stated.

"There usually is," Ultrecht interrupted, "and with the luck we’ve been having recently I would be surprised if there wasn't."

"Surprise," Avery replied flatly. "There’s no bad news, except for the fact that we’ll spend one more night in this part of the forest."

Ruk mounted the lower limbs of a nearby tree. "Are there any killer vines up there?" he asked.

"No," Avery replied. "We should be quite safe."

Ruk nodded and then with a torch in one hand, he worked his way up into the tree and disappeared through the hole Avery had cut earlier. A moment or two later and a rope slithered down from the opening. Calista tied a trio of packs to the line and began to climb the trees herself while the rope hauled the baggage upwards. Directly a second rope dropped down and Soon after Ganatar was making his own ascent. The unicorn was taking little pain to hide his displeasure at the extra fuss and bother he was requiring.

Before long they were all settled on the platform of vines and boughs. They built a small fire in the manner Armegon had suggested the night before. Avery spread a large piece of canvas out on the floor and Ruk emptied a bag of loose earth that he had earlier collected onto the mat. They spread the dirt in a generally circular layer several inches thick, then built a small fire atop the insulation. The flames hungrily ate at the wood fuel that they fed it, but it made no progress against the soil beneath it.

That night they slept long. Calista kept watch with Ganatar and Ultrecht allowing Ruk, Avery and Armegon to sleep undisturbed for a change. Ultrecht insisted on it argueing that they were the three most likely to work more in the following day's travels. Ruk, Avery and Armegon were the only real skilled fighters in the party, and fighting skill was generally the most demanded skill in the realm.

When the morning arrived, they delayed their departure allowing those who had pulled watches a chance to get some extra sleep. They would be arriving at their destination around noon anyhow, there was no reason to be impatient.

Two hours after dawn, they returned to the ground and continued their trek through the dark underworld. "You know," Armegon was saying to pass the time. "I think I’ll get some of these vines that bind the trees together here and take them home. I could really like this kind of environment on the ranch if I was in control of it."

"You like this?" Ruk asked unbelieving.

"Forgive him," Ultrecht explained to the minotaan. "It’s the elf blood talking. They love trees."

"That sounds like a good idea," Avery agreed. "Nikki could do wonders with vines like these. I might take a couple of seeds from these trees too."

"Would it be too much to ask to let us concentrate on getting out of here?" Calista snapped.

Armegon gazed at the young woman for a moment. "How long does a week last here?" he wondered aloud.

"Longer than your lifespan," Calista snapped, "if you don't shut up."

"I would guess that it’s about as bad as it can get," Ultrecht whispered barely loud enough to be heard. "She'll probably be okay tomorrow."

"We're here!" Avery cried triumphantly and everyone squeezed past the last stand of tree trunks to find the ranger standing at the edge of a clearing. For the first time in days they could almost see the sky. They clearly saw the tops of the trees they were walking under, but the sky was still obscured by the limbs and boughs of a stand of unprecedentedly monstrous trees.

It was like a solid wall of wood stretching out before them. Ruk likened it to a wooden version of the giant cone Tower of the desert. The Tower was in fact the product of a quartet of giant trees. The trunks were easily twenty meters from side to side. Between them the ground was grassy where the light filtered in from the openings surrounding the glade.

"Grass," Ganatar breathed excitedly and immediately began grazing.

"Reminds me of Redwoods," Ultrecht muttered.

"No Redwood ever grew this big," Armegon gasped.

The tree tops were not visible because of the lower limbs opaqueness and yet there was no doubt that these were trees that soared up to the heavens. "There is no telling how high these things go," Ultrecht wondered.

Avery crossed the glade and passed between two of the monolithic trunks. The others followed at a reverent pace.

The four trees stood like living columns reaching skyward. Their branches twisted and woven together by the ever present vines formed a ceiling only fifty meters above them. To one side, the vines hung gracefully to the ground where the vine roots were. The roving plants climbed into the tree branches in a gently sloping double helix.

It was decided that once again Ganatar would stay behind. This did not seem to bother the unicorn as he was genuinely interested in the grass, and wanted no part of the dangers inherent in the Towers.

"We’ll try to hurry," Armegon promised the unicorn. "Hopefully whatever guardians this tower houses won’t pose too much of a problem."