Moss and Color
When we left off, Eleanorah had just stepped into the ancient monolith on that early spring day in Vermont. Check out episode #1 if you want to refresh your memory…
But then there was a tiny, framed window opposite me with the sun streaming in.
Wait, what? I turned a quick circle and saw lush, green moss covering the rocks in the doorway. There hadn’t been any moss by the door, it was too early for moss to be green in Vermont. And why is the doorway round now…
I stood frozen to the spot, only my eyes moved around the space I was in. This wasn’t the same chamber I had stepped into.
I dropped into a protective crouch, looking about wildly. Thankfully, I was alone in the tiny room. Then I started becoming aware of the environment. It smelled green and moist, like moss and deep leaf litter. The air was quite warm, far warmer than March in Vermont, and the colors I could see outside the door were more vibrant than I was used to, even in high summer. I heard a rushing noise also, perhaps water of some sort. My curiosity began to grow, but if I moved, would I be able to get back here?
I stood up and stepped one foot in a circle around the spot I had landed on, trying to trigger a return trip, but nothing worked.
Omg, where was I?
With that thought, curiosity won and I left the chamber. Greens in shades out of a painter’s color book assaulted my eyes and they started to burn with the intensity. I wished I had brought my sunglasses, yes, it was that vivid.
A fallen tree that had succumbed to the moss carpet pointed in the direction of the water noise, so I headed that way. The stream I found rambled through a rocky bed. I couldn’t resist touching the water, it was so crystal clear. Each time I dipped my hands in, for suddenly I was quite thirsty, I got pricked, as if by a thorn or a needle, though I couldn’t see anything there to touch. It was very strange. But the water was cool and sweet, so I had my fill and crossed the stream on a few rocks and headed down a hill.
I wondered what direction I was heading in and reached for my phone for the compass app.
But there was no phone. No Fitbit on my wrist either.
It was starting to feel like some of the fantasy stories I love to read. Portals to another land, technology can’t make the trip.
What was going to be next? Elves? Forest spirits? Dragons? (Actually, I did learn later it was water sprites who had pricked me in the stream, I must have offended them somehow, but how was I to know? I couldn’t see them.)
I kept walking through the forest since it was the only thing I could do. Most of the tree species looked familiar, but at one point I entered a clearing with a huge, silvery-white barked tree in the center. It was magnificent, taller and with a canopy broader than any of the grand beech trees I knew. The trunk width rivaled a redwood (and yes, I have seen the giant redwoods). The canopy traced a perfect circle and the rest of the forest began just at its edge, almost forming an enclosed, round room.
I could only imagine it was some kind of sacred tree and place, so I didn’t linger long. Scenarios of being killed for treading on sacred ground started playing in my mind and I decided it was best to go.
Eventually I came to a road, a wide dirt road, that is. I decided to go left. The road was well-used with evidence of horses everywhere. The colors of the land still astounded me-rich, multi-layered browns, stark grays, and those vibrant greens. Everything thrummed with energy and vitality, even the air. And I was still under cover of the forest, I hadn’t seen the actual sun yet, though I could feel it.
I was waaaaay overdressed.
I don’t know how long I walked for, but by the time the end of the forest came into view, it appeared evening was falling. I thought it best to make some sort of camp not far from the road, and was scouting for something shelter-like when I heard hoofbeats and wooden wagon wheels approaching from behind me. A group of riders trotted past, followed by several large wagons with brightly colored canvas tops.
I had stopped and moved off the road a bit, but I kind of wanted to be seen to try to determine where I was. Would I even be able to communicate with people here?
“Woaaah there, Strider. Hallo.” A man in a deep blue shirt slowed his horse and drifted toward me. “Are you here alone?”
Oh thank God, he spoke English! “Um, yes. Where is here, exactly?”
“You don’t know where you are? Oh, that must have been a consarned good night then!” He slapped his thigh as he laughed at me. “Well how did you get here? It’s a good distance to Cragbend, should have sobered you up just walkin’, never mind whatever else you did!”
“Cragbend?”
Who are these strangers, and what awaits in Cragbend? Stay tuned for the next post to find out! Let me know what you think happens next in the comments below. Elements be ! ✋~
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