I jumped on Seth and wrestled him to the ground. We had been going the wrong way this whole time! Why did I listen to him! My frustration boiled inside of me pumping through every vein. The elf girl pulled me off of Seth who quickly backed away she sat me down on the log forcing me to stay still. I was so upset I couldn't speak I was shaking from my anger. We had been traveling for days through freezing snow and dangerous conditions and we had been going the wrong way this whole time!
After I calmed down a bit the elf girl shouted "Maikoh get this boy dressed in some proper clothes."
The little boy reluctantly grabbed me by the hand and led me into one of the other tents where an old woman was sitting slowly rocking back-and-forth in a handmade rocking chair.
"Nana, we have a visitor," Maikoh started saying refusing to make eye contact with me.
"My name is Bailey," I said holding out my hand.
"Why hello Bailey," this woman was very old with too many wrinkles to count her hair was extremely long and pure white braided in two braids that fell down to the floor, she wore a thick dress warm enough to be a blanket made from various shades of brown fur.
"Maikoh get this little boy some proper clothes," the old lady ordered snapping her ancient fingers.
Maikoh got down on his knees and dug around in a small wooden chest pulling out a thick pair of fur pants and coat with gloves, large snow boots and a thick hat. I put the heavy clothes on excitedly taking of my freezing wet pants and shoes, the clothes were extremely comfortable and for the first time since climbing the mountain I finally felt warm.
"Better?" Nana asked with a smile, and I nodded.
"Good, Maikoh go get this boy some food!" She barked pointy her wrinkled old hand out the tent and Maikoh went running.
"Sit down make yourself comfortable," Nana offered sweetly handing me a soft cushion full of goose feathers.
"You're from the human world, aren't you?" she asked with a smile.
"How did you know?"
"The strange clothes and the odd way your hair is cut, the plump look about you and the strange eye wear," she commented with a smile, I had no idea how obvious I was. "Tell me how did you get here?"
I told the old lady the entire story about my little sister and my grandfather sending me down here I told her about Seth and the monsters. I was just getting to the part about Seth getting eaten by the plant when Maikoh came in with a bowl of hot brown soup.
"Maikoh! Knock first!" Nana said angrily taking the soup and shooing a ticked of Maikoh out of her tent.
"Please continue it's been a long time since I've heard a human world story," she said handing me the bowl of soup.
The soup was so hot it almost burned my hands to hold the wooden bowl. I continued telling the story stopping only to take bites of the warm chunky soup choked full of meat and potatoes.
Maikoh came back in before I was finished with my story and Nana started freaking out.
"What are you doing interrupting my story?" She asked angrily chucking a pillow at him.
"Metacomet is back from hunting, and he wanted to see the visitors?" the boy dead panned ducking out of the pillow's way.
"Oh, okay then, but do come back and finish," Nana begged and I promised I would not wanting to endure her furious wrath.
I followed angry little Maikoh out of the tent and into the center of the village where a tall man with long brown hair and a square face stood with his arms crossed next to a large gray horse with long gray hair and extra-large hairy hoofs. There were seven other men with horses behind him all sitting atop them with a bows and arrows. The villagers were all running up to the man and addressing him as chief Metacomet.
"Welcome to the village of Chenoa," he said with a smile "Tell me what are you doing here in our harshest time of the year," he asked leading me away from his army of men with their horses and into the largest of the tents.
The tent was furnished with thick fur carpets, lots of warm blankets and feathery cushions, a woman stood in the tent tending to the fire she was dressed in a thick fur dress made from white fur that lit up like the snow wolf's her long black hair was pinned up in a tight bun with a silver jewel keeping it in place, her ears were long and pointy and so was her nose. There were several young children running around the tent and playing little games. The elf girl that first greeted me was sitting in front of the fire warming her long fingers. I sat down by the fire with Metacomet and told him about my sister and how I needed to get to the queen's castle as soon as possible.
"We have a route to the main village, but we usually wait until the snow melts to travel it".
"Please sir, my sister could be in grave danger I have to get there as soon as possible will you show me the way?"
"I can't send a boy your age on the journey alone maybe I can convince one of the warriors to do it," he said scratching his chin.
"Let me do it father" The elf girl said excitedly "You said I could go to the main village on the next trip out of Chenoa."
"Inola you are much too young," her mother said but the girl continued begging her father.
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, snow season is a very dangerous time to travel," her father said but the girl wouldn't stop begging.
"Fine you may but I want you to bring my best horses, a wagon with sufficient supplies, a good weapon... and Ahiga".
"Ahiga why?"
"Ahiga is my most trusted warrior either he goes, or you stay," her father demanded.
"Fine," the girl said glumly.
"It's settled then you and your dog leave in the morning with Ahiga and Inola, in the meantime feel free to enjoy everything Chenoa has to offer."
"Thank you so much," I said happily, I didn't know the proper gesture to thank him, so I bowed my head thinking that was pretty universal.
I left the tent in a good mood. I felt guilty for attacking Seth and wanted to apologize. I found Seth playing in the snow with a very little girl no more than two years old dressed in a very warm looking onesie with tiny snow boots on her feet.
"Hey Bailey," Seth mumbled he looked really upset, I know he didn't take us the wrong way on purpose, and I felt guilty for raising my temper.
"I'm sorry I freaked out," I apologized feeling my cheeks burn with guilt.
"It's cool, I always screw everything up, I should have just admitted I had no idea where we were going," Seth said with a sigh, licking the snow out of the little girl's hand and making her giggle.
"It's hard to be the guy with an answer for everything, I didn't know which way to go either, you've been a great help and I'm very grateful for everything you've done for me," I said, and Seth smiled a little.
The little girl handed me a small snowball then started making another.
"Did I ever tell you I had a little sister?" Seth asked his voice low.
"I feel like you mentioned it, you said she liked picking flowers."
"Haha, she really did love picking them," Seth said with a chuckle then he let out a long low sigh "She died when I was really young, about your age, she was just a few years younger than me."
"Seth I'm so sorry," I said running my hand down his head and over his back.
Seth looked like he could cry, so I decided to change the subject.
"What's her name?" I asked and Seth shrugged.
"I think it's Nita, because that's the only word she's said but I don't know if that's her name or if that's what she thinks my name is, she's a little confusing," Seth said eating another little ball of snow out of the girl's hand and making her laugh like crazy.
"Nita is a cute name," I said with a smile "hello Nita."
. . .
I spent the rest of the day hanging around the village. And after a big warm dinner I slept with Maikoh and his grandmother inside their tent. His grandmother made me tell her stories and yelled at Maikoh for any little noise he made. Seth wasn't allowed in any of the people tents so he had to sleep outside with the wolves, and he was not happy about it.
I woke up early the next morning in a pool of sweat last night I had been so cold that I kept on all my clothes and slept under two blankets and now I was dying from the heat. I wrestled my way out from under the blankets careful not to wake up Maikoh and his grandmother and quietly slipped on my boots. I crept out of the tent to find Inola attaching two white horses to a wooden wagon.
"Good morning," I said with a smile, and she frowned at me.
"Thanks for finally deciding to get up the sun has been out for hours you know," she said rudely.
She was busy throwing some bags into the back of the wagon where a large magnificent looking wolf was sitting, he was the biggest wolf I had ever seen, and he had a very gentle expression on his face like a dog.
"Where's Seth?" I asked looking around for him.
"He's at breakfast," I heard someone say from the wagon behind me I turned to see who it was but there was no one there.
"We haven't been introduced yet have we, I'm Ahiga," the wolf said holding out his giant paw for a shake.
"You seemed shocked for someone traveling with a talking dog," Inola commented lifting a heavy crate into the back of the wagon.
"Were you also cursed?" I asked and Ahiga's chuckled.
"Foolish child, I am a gray wolf!"
"Unlike snow wolves gray wolves have speaking abilities and are extremely evil," Seth said from behind me with a growl, his sudden appearance startled me, I had never seen him look so furious.
"I can't deny that my brethren have done wicked things, but I assure you I am no wild animal" Ahiga said with a sly smile.
"Why are gray wolves considered evil?" I asked and Inola rolled her eyes.
"Don't you know anything?" She asked and I shook my head.
"I'm from the human world, so I really don't know much about anything".
"Gray wolves are Luminari's top predators, they are known for blowing down houses and eating people's children," I suddenly remembered the story my grandfather told me, and a shiver ran down my spine, he really wasn't lying.
Ahiga's amber eyes squinted fiercely.
"Gray wolves are no different than people some of us are vicious murders and others aren't, me and my family aren't," he said the light air in which he normally spoke replaced with a much heavier tone.
Inola went back to loading the wagon all by herself.
"Would you like some help?" I offered Inola and she only frowned.
"Do I look weak to you?" She asked clearly offended lifting up a large metal axel I knew I wasn't strong enough to carry.
"Uh...No...of course not," I said nervously.
"Then no I would not like your help," she said tossing the axel into the wagon.
Seth downright refused to sit in the back with Ahiga, so Ahiga took the seat in the front of the wagon next to Inola leaving me to sit in the back where the luggage was stored. Inola lifted up the reins and shouted a strange call snapping them back down violently, the horses jumped into movement and sent me flying backwards and Seth chuckling at my clumsiness.
We rode right out of the village waving at everyone as we passed them by and headed down a trail through the forest. The forest was a beautiful winter wonderland with tall pine trees covered in a thin layer of bright white snow, a perfectly placed pattern of hoof prints was left behind on the otherwise untouched landscape.
We came up on a fork in the road with an old wooden signpost pointing down two different paths. The right was pointing back to the mountain and read Lilia Meadow with an illustration of some pink flowers like the kind in the field me and Seth had just been in. The sign on the left was pointing deeper to the forest and read swap land with an illustration of a toad.
"I think we should go through the mountain," Inola said although she didn't sound sure.
"No, the mountain is too cold, we could get stuck in the snow let's go through the swamp," Ahiga suggested.
"Inola is right we should take the mountain. The swamp is too dangerous," Seth added.
"I am an elder of the Chenoa tribe the rest of you will listen to me and I say we go through the swamp," Ahiga ordered and Seth started to growl.
"Let's have a vote," I suggested and Ahiga frowned at me.
"Good idea I say we go through the mountain," Seth said putting up his paw "Inola?" he asked but she shook her head.
"Ahiga is right I don't want to get the horses stuck we should go through the swamp."
"Bailey what's your vote?" Seth asked.
I thought it over I was really sick of the cold and didn't want to go through the mountain again and risk running into another one of those giant weasel creatures.
"I'm sorry Seth but I think we should go through the swamp".
Inola snapped the reins and steered the horses to the left.
"You're making a big mistake. I know for a fact that the swamp is much worse than the mountain," Seth growled.
"What do you know your only a common mutt," Ahiga said with a short laugh.
"My dad went to the swamp when he was with the knights, they lost fourteen men crossing through it."
"What happened to them?" I asked wondering if it was too late to change my vote.
"I don't remember," Seth mumbled under his breathe.
"You mean to tell me you're basing all your knowledge on something your father told you and you don't even remember what it was he warned you about?" Ahiga asked in disbelieve with another false chuckle then he started giving Inola driving advice.
Seth sat down angrily. There was an air of uneasiness in the atmosphere. I was already seriously regretting my vote.