Chapter Fourteen

The Swollen Forest
Before the Trees

The Swollen Forest was growing rapidly. Every day its borders expanded closer to the Sun River and the shores of the Veil Sea. If not for the Fissure Gorge blocking its way, it would have already overtaken Cork.

As big and beautiful as it could be, however, the Swollen Forest was not a good place. It was home to no cute elves or motherless deer that ran around smelling flowers with their rabbit friends. Likewise, you would never find a house made of candy there, or a young, naive, red-hooded girl skipping around with a basket. It was a dark, foreboding place, as unpleasant as a blind dentist informing you that all your fillings need to be dug out with a dull butter knife.

The Swollen Forest was home only to those who wished to stay hidden. Many a soul had wandered in and never wandered back out. The safest thing would be never to venture there, but if you did have to traverse it, your best strategy would be to travel fast. Travel through the Swollen Forest was best done with lighted torches and in company with a large group—or, better yet, encircled by a ring of palehi.

One of the things that made the journey so perilous was the dreams coming in from Reality. A dream would swoop in and latch onto any creature it could find. In that vulnerable moment, while frantically trying to manipulate and enhance the dream, the inhabitant of Foo might be pounced upon by any number of creatures, to be dragged off to be buried or sold or cleverly hidden for hundreds of years.

Albert had gone to Morfit as an agent of Cork. The tall nit operated one of the gatehouses on the edge of the land of Niteon and was concerned about the state of Foo and the conflicts that were raging. When the Lore Coil communicated that the gateway had been destroyed, it did not expressly say what had happened to Sabine or to Leven Thumps, the destroyer of the gateway. In an effort to learn the truth, Albert had gone to visit Morfit and was now on his way back to Niteon. To get there, he had to pass through the Swollen Forest, and he was understandably nervous. All he wanted was to get home and let someone else worry about Morfit’s problems.

Albert and his escorts were now about halfway through the dark forest. The palehi were running swiftly, and as he struggled to keep up, Albert was totally unaware that there was a living toothpick riding in the cuff of his pants.

They were all breathing hard, and their legs were tired. The palehi’s straggly hair was drenched with sweat and hung down over their eyes, making it hard for them to see clearly. So far the band of runners had successfully managed to avoid any incoming dreams, but fear of what might happen if they stopped kept them moving quickly.

Albert was especially short on breath, and he was gasping as he asked the lead palehi, “How much farther, Simon?”

“We are closing in on halfway,” Simon replied.

“Has the forest been quiet lately?” Albert asked.

Simon stared at Albert as if he were crazy.

“What I mean is, have there been any new . . . problems?” Albert clarified, his lungs burning. “Those Lore Coils can wreak havoc on normalcy.”

Simon didn’t answer immediately, but finally he said a single word: “Jamoon.”

“Jamoon?” Albert asked.

“He has new power.”

“Power?” Albert gasped, stumbling over a large boulder and struggling to keep up. “What kind of power?”

Simon wasn’t exactly a great communicator, and Albert had difficulty making sense of his reply.

“Shadowy nihils surround him, and their bite can rot the mind. He is searching for those who slipped through, and his birds have a powerful effect on those who do not have the right answers. Some of his victims have been found wandering without purpose, looking for shade dark enough to hide them forever.”

“I say,” Albert panted, wiping sweat from his eyes.

“The Lore Coil spoke of Sabine,” Simon added.

Albert shivered. Hanging on to keep from being bounced out of Albert’s pant cuff, Geth put his small hand to his ear.

“You think Sabine has something to do with this?” Albert asked.

“Perhaps with the nihils. But Jamoon, they say, is acting under the influence of something unknown, much as Sabine was. Regardless, Jamoon will find Geth or destroy Foo trying,” Simon said. “Everything up is down. The poison of Jamoon and Morfit is too strong to ignore.”

Simon shivered, turned his head from Albert, and picked up the pace. Albert struggled to keep up, while Geth strained to hear over the sound of running feet on the forest floor.

“Morfit is gigantic,” Albert said. “There are more regrets than ever. And all sorts of beings walking around with silly looks and concerns upon their faces.”

“Go back to Niteon and forget,” Simon said. “Cork is blessed not to know how tainted the rest of Foo has become.”

Running at a smooth, even pace, Simon was still talking in riddles. “I’ll tell you this,” he said, “the Children of the Sewn can’t frame the darkness fast enough. Their walls are filled with dark images—so much gray. Many in Foo won’t step out of their homes for fear the Ring of Plague will steal their gifts.”

Albert’s ears burned at the mention of stolen gifts. Simon also had Geth’s attention.

“Stealing gifts?” Albert sputtered, his breathing and stride both uneven. “Impossible.”

“Believe as you will,” Simon said indifferently.

“But what about—” Albert started to say.

“Watch out!” Simon yelled, throwing out an arm to stop Albert.

Simon’s warning was too late. A thick, yellow dream rose up through the floor of the forest and trapped Albert, flowing up around him like a glass tube. Albert looked out at Simon, but the lead palehi was unable to help him. All that he and the rest of the palehi could do was surround Albert and the dream he was caught in and wait.

Albert frantically worked with the vision. It was a long, detailed dream that belonged to a math professor back in Reality. The professor was consumed with a certain complex problem and was dreaming about a possible solution. Albert tried to manipulate the details of the dream to resolve the man’s frustration so that he could simply take a deep breath and awake refreshed, but the dream was too intense and long.

In the darkness of the surrounding forest a low moaning and clicking noise sounded. Absorbed in the dream, Albert couldn’t hear it, but the palehi could, and they glanced about wildly.

The sound grew louder.

“Sarus!” one of the palehi yelled. “Sarus!”

The palehi began to tremble and run in place.

“Stay!” Simon commanded. “He will pay. He will pay!”

“Payment means nothing if we are suffering in a gaze!” another palehi yelled, bolting off into the trees. His departure was like a bullet from a starting pistol at a marathon. Except for Simon, all the palehi raced after him. Only Simon remained, standing there staring at Albert stuck in the dream.

Albert could see the palehi fleeing, but the dream he was working in would not end. He began manipulating things in such a way that the professor having the dream would be confused and wake up. Albert threw in a vision of a clown, a little red wagon, the professor’s first-grade teacher, and a scene played by garbage men. In Reality, the professor tossed and turned as the unrelated and implausible images filled his mind. But he was tenacious and didn’t give up.

The moaning and clicking grew louder. Now, even Simon was panicked. He turned toward the moaning sound, then back at Albert.

“Sorry,” he mouthed. “I can’t take sides.”

Simon turned and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction, leaving Albert on his own.

Of course, Albert wasn’t completely alone. Geth stood tall in the cuff of Albert’s pants, peering out, curious what the outcome of this would be. He could feel Albert thrashing about, frantically trying to put to bed the dream he was working on. Geth could also clearly hear the sound of what was coming in the woods. He knew the noise, and he knew the sarus were at hand. He wasn’t at all surprised that the palehi had fled.

The thunderous clicking was deafening now, and Albert was sweating, madly moving things around in the dream. In desperation, he threw in a vision of the professor’s ex-wife, and the terrified professor awoke instantly, ending the dream.

Albert was free, but it was too late.