The horses were still fresh and moved quickly along the path, which was fairly wide. Ardanwen did not tire, even with two riders on his back, Tiuri and Piak this time. The Fool, who was the heaviest, rode Piak’s horse. The boots were on his feet now.
After about an hour, the path narrowed, and soon it was no more than a narrow track through the high, coarse grass. Still the horses walked calmly onwards, although more slowly than before.
The trees were thick and old and grew in strange and twisted shapes. And the longer they rode, the denser the undergrowth became. Many of the bushes had evergreen leaves, and some towered above their heads. They hung over the river, dragging their branches in the slowly flowing dark water.
“Now I understand why this river’s called the Black River,” said Piak. “Ow!” he added, as he banged his head on a prickly branch.
The bushes were so dense now that they could barely make their way through.
“Is this even still a path?” Tiuri wondered out loud. “I don’t think so.”
“There’s something over there that looks more like a proper way through,” said Piak, pointing.
“But that would mean moving away from the river,” said Tiuri. “Oh, but let’s give it a try. We really can’t carry on along here.”
After a while, they realized that the new track also ran parallel to the river, but it too became increasingly difficult to ride along. Leading their horses, they proceeded on foot. The Fool took off his boots again, as the ground was becoming boggy and he thought it a shame to get them dirty.
“Phew!” said Piak finally, dropping down onto the trunk of a fallen tree. “What a terrible path.”
“It isn’t a path at all!” said Tiuri. “The real path came to a dead end ages ago.”
The Fool sat down beside Piak and said, “Bad ground here, bad ground. But soon there’s a real road.”
“Are you sure?” asked Tiuri.
“Certain, very certain,” replied the Fool. “I can tell by the river. This is the dark river, and by the Owl House the road runs along the dark river.”
“I hope you’re right,” said Tiuri.
“Don’t you believe me, don’t you believe me, Friend?” said the Fool, sounding very upset. “But I say nothing to you that is not true!”
“I believe you, Marius,” Tiuri reassured him. “I only hope the Owl House is not too far and that it is possible to reach it by following the river. I don’t plan on leaving the river. We’d get lost in no time.”
“That is true,” nodded the Fool. “I got lost, too, often. But I won’t get lost with you.”
*
Am I doing the right thing? thought Tiuri, as they went on their way. Wouldn’t it have been better to take the open roads to the Royal Forest, where the Fool belongs? Was Bendu right? Was Isadoro right? Bendu thought I shouldn’t travel with Marius at all, Isadoro said I shouldn’t travel to the west, and her father thought me a coward. No one, except for Piak and perhaps Evan, thought I should believe the Fool. Well, if his stories are nonsense, then nothing bad can happen to us in this forest. But then, if he’s right, we could be heading into danger…
Then, suddenly, he sank down into the mud. It came up over his ankles.
“The trees are wider apart here!” called Piak.
“But it’s getting more and more like a bog,” said Tiuri. “I’m afraid we’re going to have to turn around and go back.”
“Oh no, let’s walk on until at least this evening!” said Piak. “We can always go back tomorrow. Besides, you said we had until tomorrow evening.”
They trudged onwards, wading through puddles, stepping over branches, stumbling through mud, and cutting themselves on sharp grass.
“The Owl House is further than this,” said the Fool.
Would Isadoro have believed him? Tiuri wondered. She warned us, but why? It must have something to do with the wood. And yet she had claimed she never went there. He couldn’t work out which of her words were true and which were not. The day before yesterday he had been with her in her garden, and he had kissed her and imagined he was in love with her. Now he was walking in a wilderness, with his heart full of doubt.
He looked up. Through the branches, he could see the sun in the west. It was already getting late.
“Oh, urgh, what are those nasty-looking worms?!” exclaimed Piak.
“Bloodsuckers,” said the Fool.
Piak looked in horror at one of the creatures, which had latched onto his leg. He was about to rip it off, but the Fool shouted, “No, no! Don’t do that! The bloodsucker will drop off when it’s had enough.”
“Enough what?” asked Piak feebly.
“You can spare a drop or two of blood for a little creature like that, can’t you?” said Tiuri encouragingly. “It’s not going to kill you, you know!”
“I think you were right, Tiuri,” said Piak. “This really isn’t a proper path.”
“But we’ll keep on going until this evening,” said Tiuri. “That’s what you wanted to do.”
“Of course,” said Piak, a little embarrassed. “But I didn’t know then that such nasty little beasts existed. Poor horses, you’re getting attacked, too! Well, I suppose no one ever comes here, so it must be a feast day for these bloodsuckers.”
Tiuri laughed. “You always have to look on the bright side, eh?” he said.
After some hesitation, the Fool decided to put his boots back on.
When they reached a spot that was relatively dry, they made a fire and had something to eat. Then they took the blankets from under the horses’ saddles and settled down for the night. At Tiuri’s suggestion, they took it in turns to keep watch, as they were in unfamiliar territory.
The next morning, they woke up feeling damp and cold. They discussed what to do and decided to stick to their initial plan: to keep going until that evening.
The surroundings didn’t change as they walked with their horses over boggy ground and between twisted trees. Mosquitoes and bloodsuckers plagued them with their attacks. In the afternoon, Tiuri said, “I’m afraid we’re not going to make much more progress this way. All we’ve done is waste a couple of days.”
The Fool glanced around wildly, tugging his beard and shaking his head. “Bad ground,” he mumbled. Then he pointed at Ardanwen. “Look!” he cried. “Look at the black horse. He knows the way!”
Ardanwen had indeed set off in a different direction.
“He’ll find the path,” said the Fool.
“He’s moving away from the river,” said Tiuri.
“But we can’t follow the river now anyway,” said Piak.
“That’s true enough,” said Tiuri. “All right, just a short distance, then. I trust Ardanwen.”
“Beautiful black horse,” said the Fool. “Wise black horse, show us the way!”