An Icy Midsummer Wind
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 24954
| "Wow," was all Fertal could say, gazing at the ageless oak whose many
gnarled branches loomed above, swallowing up the night-sky and the
inumerable stars. The disappearance of the sky suddenly brought to his
attention how fulland alive it had seemed before. Was it just him,
or were there more stars in the sky now that he was in his rightful form?
"What joy the deepening night's shadow brings!" declared the elf who had greeted them at the top of the rope ladder, his lurid eyes reflecting some dark mischief. Somehow he and the others (including Tursil) had made it to the branches above without Fertal or Artizza noticing. They leered down at them, their faces etched with impish delight. "Before you is the Oak of Ages," the keen-eyed elf said in a softer voice, motioning for them to continue on. "Go inside!" Fertal had a sudden misgiving as an icy gust of wind swept through the canopy of the forest - awakening the oak, it seemed. It's twisted branches suddenly resembled the living, writhing tentacles of an octopus, ready to ensnare him and Artizza."Aren't you coming with us?" Fertal asked them, struggling for balance as the unnatural wind continued to pick up. "Uh, you go first!" suggested one of the others."There's a surprise inside! We don't want to spoil the fun!" said yet another from the creaking branches above. "Ya, you go in first! We already know what's inside!" "There lies the Way to Merriment!" chimmed in what sounded like Tursil's melodic voice, his statement striking some secret chord with elves, sending them into a fit of hysterical laughter."SHHHH!"the keen-eyed elf hissed. "You'll spoil all the fun!" Artizza leapt past Fertal and into the hollowed out passageway. "C'mon, slow poke!" she teased, winking at him. "I wouldn't want to go without you!"Maybe Artizza was right, Fertal reasoned. Something about the tree seemed right, seductive even, like it was where they belonged. Yet some small voice in his heart warned him that to enter the tree would only bring death's cold embrace. He clung to the ropes, motionless. He felt the gaze of the keen-eyed elf on his back, and he trembled. Almost against his will, he sprang forward and joined Artizza in the hollow. A pale-green moon began to rise on the eastern horizon, bathing the tree-tops in it's eerie glow. The soul stirring howl of a distant wolf was carried to their sensitive ears by the chilled wind...
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Ib
3/17/2003 10:36:13 PM
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