As they journeyed deeper into the forest, Wolf did his best to recall the names of things they passed, from flowers to fungi to different birds calling out overhead, watching curiously from the safety of the tallest trees.
"This had to be the most incredible place to grow up!" exclaimed Katja as she made her way over a stream, stepping from one wide, smooth stone to another. Wolf simply splashed through the water, shaking the wetness from his fur when he reached the other side.
"It was," he agreed. "It feels different now, but I suppose that's to be expected after being gone so long."
"I think it's only natural it would feel different," agreed Katja. She ran her fingers over her mother's ring before looking at the trees around her. "I wish it was possible to know if my mother ever came this way."
She tried to imagine the painting of her mother coming to life and moving through the woods, ducking under low-hanging boughs and stepping over rotting logs, cooling her feet in a stream or sitting in a clearing with her face tilted towards the sun, enjoying the peacefulness of the secluded world, as different from the contained bustle of the Hexen castle as could be imagined.
Katja continued to study the flora and fauna as they walked, wishing she had any skill in drawing so she could preserve the strange things she saw. At least on paper, they would be protected from the inevitable effects of passing time rubbing against established memories, sanding them down until they were too far gone to be recalled.
Stopping before a sprawling cluster of red and blue mushrooms, Katja bent down and pressed a finger against one, noting what appeared to be faint black lines peeking through the otherwise vibrant colors.
Concentrating on the mushroom, Katja was surprised at the weakness of its song—it took a long time for the fungus to respond to her presence, and when it did, it acted as if it was waking from a very deep sleep, each note unfolding slowly and uncertainly, as if it was vaguely aware of how it ought to be responding but found doing so incredibly difficult.
Katja listened to the start-stop melody, then, as she'd done with the vine before, she attempted to infuse the organism with health. The mushroom responded sluggishly, making her frown, and it took a great deal of effort on her part to establish enough of a connection to send her magic into the tiny growth.
Most likely it was merely an isolated incident, but it continued to bother Katja long after they'd left the mushroom behind.
A while later, she stopped beneath the shade of a beech tree, catching her breath before taking a long drink from her canteen. Reaching out to touch the tree, she was surprised to see the same black veins she'd noticed on the mushroom streaking across the bark.
Moving to where she could inspect the leaves, Katja saw that the ones with the greatest amount of black on them were a noticeably lighter shade of green, far less vivid, as if the black lines were somehow leeching the color right out of the foliage.
Katja quickly wrapped a hand around a branch, introducing herself and listening to the tree's response. The beech was difficult to understand, as it kept making a sound that might have been a rasping cough, and that's when it struck Katja.
"I think this tree is sick," she said, prompting Wolf to trot over and sniff around the base, stepping over twisting roots and upturned rocks. "Of course, I could be wrong, since I only just learned I can communicate with the forest, but it sounds different from the trees closer to the edge of the woods."
She touched the tree's trunk again, and the tip of Wolf's nose twitched.
"Something's definitely wrong," he agreed. "It smells familiar, but I can't quite place it. It's like a different version of something I've smelled before, but I can't remember what."
"Could there be some sort of disease affecting the forest?" asked Katja. "But then why isn't it infecting everything living here? We've only seen the black lines on some things. And isn't the Waldkonig supposed to heal anything that gets sick in the Schwarzwald? He's the caretaker of the forest, after all."
"All excellent questions," agreed Wolf. "Perhaps we can ask him when we meet him."
A rush of fear flooded Katja's stomach at the thought of standing before the Forest King, and she reached up and touched the wolf necklace for comfort, smiling when she realized what she'd done, but glad to still find a sense of security from the jewelry that had changed her life.
They continued on, and Katja laughed watching squirrels leap over pinecones before chasing one another around trees. Sunlight glinted off spiderwebs, and dust motes floated through the air. The occasional feather dotted the ground, adding a streak of blue or yellow to the forest floor, and the droning of insects provided a steady background hum.
Grateful when Wolf announced it was time to stop for a break, Katja walked up to a tree whose trunk was covered in tiny strips of curling bark, marveling at how the slim trunk grew sideways, as if it was reaching for the neighboring tree, allowing the upper branches of both to intertwine and form an archway of sorts.
"I always thought trees only grew straight up," she said, admiring the swooping curve of the delicate branches. "I suppose they're growing towards wherever the sun shines the most, but it looks as if they're reaching for one another, trying to be close on purpose."
Giving the trunk a pat, Katja stepped beneath the arch of tree branches, then walked a few more feet before she stopped and glanced around.
Something was wrong.
The forest looked different all of a sudden, and she quickly tried to place what, exactly, had changed. Something with the trees, perhaps...the colors were different, and the ground was uneven and littered with rocks rather than covered in a thick layer of pine needles and dirt.
Turning around, she was shocked to find herself alone.
"Wolf?" she called, turning in a slow circle, waiting for him to appear.
But there was no answer, and her best friend wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Wolf!" she called again, her heartbeat speeding up. How had they been separated?
Katja stumbled forward a few steps, the rocks making for difficult footing, and when she reached the end of the trees, she gasped—she was standing on the edge of a ravine, looking down into a heavily forested canyon. The sound of a waterfall could be heard in the distance, and a hawk cried out nearby. The wind was cooler here, and Katja shivered, quickly making her way back inside the shelter of the trees.
Where was she? How had she gotten separated from Wolf? And most importantly, how did she find him again?
Katja tried to remember exactly where she'd first emerged in this new location, but as she studied the trees around her, they began to look more and more similar. Working to keep her breathing even, she did her best to make sense of what had happened.
The simplest explanation seemed to be she'd walked through an archway of tree branches and somehow ended up in an entirely different part of the forest. She had no idea how she'd done such a thing, and there was always the chance she hadn't done anything at all, and the forest was simply playing a trick on her. It seemed in keeping with everything she'd heard about the Schwarzwald, even though she hadn't sensed anything sinister in her communication with the woods thus far.
Touching the wolf necklace for luck, Katja began to explore the immediate area, searching for anything she might have missed, something that would explain what had just happened. When nothing readily presented itself, her stomach tightened.
She couldn't do this on her own. Not without a guide, and certainly not without Wolf, who knew the forest and could lead her to the Waldkonig using the heightened senses she lacked. A branch snapped behind her, and Katja whirled around, prepared to see some monstrosity charging at her, but it was just a rabbit, as startled by her as she was it, and it quickly hopped off.
Panic clawed at her throat. This couldn't be happening...not now! She could wander this forest forever and never find her way out, destined to die alone and forgotten among the trees, her body buried under a mound of dirt and leaves.
Just as her frightened thoughts prepared to run completely away with her, Katja decided to try one final thing, the only thing at her disposal. Placing her hand against the grey-brown bark of an elm tree, she closed her eyes.
Hello? she offered the thought gently, not wanting to give the tree too much of a shock. I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm not sure how I got here.
She could feel the elm stirring, waking up and extending its awareness to the forest around it, energy coursing up its branches before zipping down to its roots, gathering information in preparation of responding.
Katja told the tree what had happened, or what she thought had happened, anyway, and the elm gently ruffled its leaves.
You went through a treeway, it explained. Wherever you find two different types of trees growing close enough to intertwine their branches and form an arch, you will find a treeway. They allow you to travel quickly through the forest, crossing great distances in just a few steps.
Katja had heard of portals before, but never treeways.
Do treeways work for anyone? she asked. Or just those who can communicate with trees?
They only work for the Waldkonig, corrected the tree, sending a jolt of fear down Katja's spine. Or those who have been granted access to his magic.
I don't...Katja started to say, then stopped, her attention on her mother's ring, shining brightly where her hand rested against the trunk of the elm. Wolf had smelled the Waldkonig's magic on it. Was it possible the ring had allowed her to use the treeway?
And then another thought rose to her mind that made her feel hot and cold at the same time—had Katja's mother known about treeways? Had she ever used them?
Does the Waldkonig still use treeways? asked Katja, desperately hoping he didn't suddenly appear between two trees.
No, lamented the elm. He does not visit us as he once did. His concerns are elsewhere. The sadness in the tree's voice was thick as sap, and Katja felt sorry for it even as she appreciated learning more about this strange forest.
To your knowledge, has anyone besides the Waldkonig ever used the treeways? she asked. Most likely the tree wouldn't know, but it couldn't hurt to ask.
The elm considered this, taking its time to delve into the deepest recesses of what proved to be a very long memory. Eventually, it replied, There was one. A woman who wore the same ring you wear now. The ring allowed her to travel through treeways even when the Waldkonig wasn't with her.
Katja felt like she'd turned a corner and run straight into someone, knocking the breath from her lungs. Keeping her hand on the tree for support, she slowly lowered herself into a sitting position, crouching between the knobby, twisting roots.
Her mother had used treeways while wearing a ring infused with the Waldkonig's magic.
It was becoming increasingly less likely her mother had simply stumbled on the ring while walking through the Schwarzwald, but Katja wasn't ready to delve further into what the elm's revelation might mean.
Instead, she closed her eyes and replied, That woman was my mother. She's dead now, so without your story, I never would have known. Thank you.
The elm offered its condolences, and Katja leaned so one shoulder rested against the trunk, appreciating the support even as her mind spun, alternating between the new information she'd just learned and the very pressing need to find her way back to Wolf.
Had her mother memorized every treeway in the Schwarzwald or was there a way to see them before walking through them? Lifting her head, Katja squinted, turning her gaze first one way, then another, trying to see if anything jumped out at her or appeared different than it normally would. She couldn't imagine the time it would take to study the space between every pair of close-growing trees, but of course she would if that's what it took to get back to Wolf.
She couldn't remember exactly where she'd emerged from the treeway, but she knew she hadn't gone far, so she wrapped an arm around the elm and thanked it for its help, then got to her feet and started walking in widening circles, alternating between purposefully looking at the branches of nearby trees and glancing from the corner of her eye for anything out of the ordinary.
Making her way towards two particularly close-growing trees that didn't appear to be of the same kind, Katja looked from side to side, peering around the trunks, looking up at the tangle of branches overhead...and then, turning away, she glanced back over her shoulder. The view caused her to stop.
What she could see between the two tree trunks wasn't the same as the forest around it.
Trying to keep the image in her vision, she shuffled backwards towards the trees, concentrating on looking out the corner of her eye until she was right beneath the archway. Taking another step, she felt a slight pressure she hadn't noticed before, then suddenly found herself engulfed in a pair of arms.
Screaming, Katja tried to push the arms away, slapping and kicking and working to free herself until she heard Wolf cry out, "Katja, it's me, it's Wolf!"
Lowering her hands, Katja let out a deep sigh of relief as she took in Wolf standing before her in human-form.
"Where did you go?" he demanded. "I was so worried! One minute you were there, and the next, you were gone!"
Katja told him what had happened, twirling the ring around her finger as she shared what the elm had told her. Wolf stared at her hand, then shook his head.
"That's incredible!" he said. "I can't believe I've never heard of treeways. I wish we had a map of where they all are."
"Me, too," replied Katja, if for nothing else than to feel close to her mother again, trodding where she might have walked.
Katja made a mental note to be more observant of the trees around her, lest she be accidentally separated from Wolf again, but she was impressed at the ingenuity of such a system, nonetheless. Had it always existed or was it the Waldkonig's creation?
Doubting she would ever have all the answers she wanted, she nevertheless added it to the list of questions she'd like to ask the Forest King...if she was given the chance.
(Artwork by MonikaP from Pixabay)