The Infernal Orchard

Fred approached the orchard. The trees were of a species that he had never seen before. Their leaves were about the size of three of his fingers, with five to nine points on their margins, similar to a holly leaf. They appeared in the ruddy light to be black, but Fred thought that the light might be playing tricks on him. The bark of the trees was smooth, like that of an aspen, except, again, it appeared to be gray instead of white. Within easy reach was some sort of fruit that was ripening, although not yet ripe. This fruit appeared to Fred to be possibly white, although it was tinged with the red-orange light that prevaded this place. The fruits were spherical, with the largest of them being a bit larger than Fred's fists. On the rind appeared five ridges from the top to the bottom - looking up at one, these ridges formed a star-shaped pattern.

The odd thing was that there appeared to be no sky - the ceiling of the cavern, although high, was still quite visible. And how did the orchard get its water?

The mysteries lay unresolved in Fred's mind, as he looked around.

1. Fred tried to climb one of the trees to get an idea of the lay of the land.
2. Fred continued down the cobblestone path.

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