Chapter Three
Once Upon A time
A large oak door with ancient script inscribed within it, led out to a large elongated cliff that over looked most of the mountain and the valley below. Near the edge of the cliff, a pedestal the size of a large boulder and made of jagged green crystals held the coveted prize. An eagle's claw made of black steel rose from the crystals center with its claw reaching for the sky, and in its talons it held a blue gem the size of a grapefruit. For centuries, the coveted prize known as the Tear of Poer had led adventurers, thieves, power mongers, and the like into its dungeons below to seek fame, riches, and/or power. The gem had led thousands to their deaths as they fell prey to traps and monsters. Few survived the first five levels of the dungeon and even fewer had made it past level seven, but three brave souls urged on by greed, power, and heart made it to the thirteenth floor and final level.
A commotion could be heard on the other side of the large oak door. It was the sounds of battle, one of steel, claws, teeth, and muscle, but also one of conjuration and magic. The commotion grew louder as the three brave souls fought the most powerful and final monster. A loud explosion shook the large thick door and then all fell to silence. A bolt could be heard unlocking from within, then the door creaked open, and the three brave souls stepped out to claim their prize. The dungeon had taken its toll on them, marking them with scars from monsters and steel, and they were physically and mentally tired. They heaved for their exertion, but pressed on to claim the coveted prize.
A female crimson battle mage from the desert elf tribe was clothed in a hooded red cape, and she held a sword in her right hand and wielded a magic sphere the size of a baseball in her left; the magic sphere still zapped and discharged from her last attack in currents of red lightning that swirled around the sphere. She took up the middle position of the three brave souls as they moved as one beast towards the Tear of Poer. A woodlands elf wizard with a black beard and a hooded robe to match stood to her left and carried a staff with an ax blade attached. The top of his thick black hair smoldered after receiving a parting gift from the last monster. A werewolf in his semi-form (half man and half wolf) stomped across the cliff on his two hind legs as his claws and teeth dripped with blood. The werewolf stood to the woman's right, and he reverted to his giant wolf form which was the easiest of the three forms to possess.
They stopped before the mound of green crystals and peered at the Tear of Poer. The three of them hated each other, but over the countless years they were unable to go the dungeon alone, so they made a pact. They banded together to clear the dungeon, and then when they cleared the final monster, they would fight each other for the prize till there was only one victor. Without a word, they separated from each other and prepared to defeat the other two.
The female crimson battle mage known as Red Northlands Fury, charged her magical sphere, and red lighting crackled around it, then moved through her body, and also charged her sword. The woodland elf wizard known as Woodsman Of The Sacred Oak lifted his staff and the ax blade glowed purple. The werewolf, Lykos Of Steel Teeth, faced them as his eyes glowed yellow, then he bared his large teeth and growled at the two. Each one waited for the other to attack first.
Below the cliff, Jane walked from the forest and found the entrance to the dungeon. She peered into it's dark opening and decided she wouldn't dare enter. Jane thought that she did need to find a high place to see where she was. The fog completely lifted, and she had walked for about two hours now. She was about to continue on when she heard a loud howl and explosive sounds like lightning. A different type of detonating thunders followed and the ground beneath her trembled. Angry shouts came from above, and Jane lifted her head, drawn to the sounds of the fight. She couldn't see on top of the cliff, but she did glimpse an object glinting in the sunlight right before it hit her in the eye. She cried out in shock and covered her right eye with her hand as a great pain shot throughout her body. The sting was so bad, Jane thought she lost her eye. She searched the area around her eye with her fingers and discovered no blood, so her panic lessened. Jane didn't know how long she reeled in pain, but as suddenly as the object had hit her, the pain completely went away after a few minutes.
When the assault first occurred, she let go of her bike and it fell to the ground. Jane bent down, grabbed its handlebars, and straightened the bike back on its wheels. She thought it best to leave the area before anything else fell on her, and she still needed to find something she could examine her eye in. She thought about her cell phone and that it had a mirror app, so she started to pull it out of her pocket, when she felt as if she wasn't alone. Jane turned around and saw a man, a woman, and a huge dog quickly coming towards her. They all looked like they had been in a fight that none of them were winning, and their clothing caused her to take a double-take.
"There is a female here," Red said when they were still some distance away from her.
"The female appears to be a lowland elf," Woodsman stated and then he pointed out, "Look how rounded her ears are. Though I do not recognize her garb."
Red told him, "Get her attention before she leaves. We need to speak with her."
"You, there. Female..." Woodsman called out. "We are looking for the Tear of..."
"Do not tell her that," Red snapped at him. "She does not need to know what we are looking for."
"How are we to ask her if she has seen it, if we do not tell her what we are looking for?" Woodsman questioned.
"Like this," Red replied and then she said, "You, there. Female... Have you seen a shiny rock that may or may not have fallen off the cliff?"
Lykos sniffed the air while the other two of them talked, then moved, and circled Jane. He smelled something familiar about her. Actually he smelled two things that were very familiar to him. He started to warn the others when the woman reached down and petted his head.
"You're such a huge dog," Jane told him, then she said to the others, "I don't know what it was, but something did hit me in the head," she answered. "I never saw what it was. Oh... I didn't introduce myself. I'm Jane, and I seem to be lost."
"I am Woodsman Of The Sacred Oak," the woodlands elf wizard said as he puffed out his chest. He motioned to the female crimson battle mage and stated, "The ill-tempered creature there is called Red Northlands Fury, and that flea bag wolf over there is Lykos Of Steel Teeth.
Jane looked over their costumes and questioned them, "Are all of you going to a fantasy convention or something?"
"Convention?" Red spoke. "The crimson battle mage convention is not till the end of the year. I am surprised you have heard of it."
"I actually haven't," Jane replied. "Oh... Since you're here, can you look into my eye. I got something in it earlier."
Red paid no attention to her, waved away the female's inquiry, and said, "You seem fine."
"Thanks," Jane told her. "Maybe you can help me with something else. I can't get a signal out here," she said and then she questioned them, "Do any of you have cell phone reception? I can't call out or text."
Woodsman leaned to the female crimson battle mage and whispered, "She must be talking about the Great Warlock CellFone Ception. Maybe she is an apprentice of his. Look at the bolt she boast on her garb. She may be a very powerful magic user, apprentice of the Great Warlock CellFone Ception or not."
"If this is so, we should talk no more of the Tear of Poer in front of her," Red whispered back to him and then she told her, "We are unable to assist you, and we should be on our way."
"Wait!" Jane uttered. "At least direct me towards the nearest town."
"AaBack is on the other side of the mountain," Woodsman told her. "There is a path over there," he said as he motioned with his staff. "Just follow it down."
Woodsman and Red started in the opposite direction, searching the ground around the dungeon, looking for the large gem that eluded them.
"Thanks," Jane said and then she pushed her bike towards the
path. She walked about ten feet when she heard the most marvelous and amazing thing.
"Jane," someone called after her.
Her heart thundered in her chest. Someone remembered her name. She couldn't recall a time when someone remembered her name beyond a few seconds. Had the miracle she always prayed for finally happen?
She turned, overcome by joy and exclaimed, "Yes?"
The woman and the man searched the ground a great distance from her, and they had their backs to her, so they couldn't have been the ones to speak unless they were playing some sort of joke. Jane wondered if she imagined that someone call to her. She may be a bit dehydrated and tired from pushing her bike up a rugged mountain. She shrugged, then turned, and headed for the path again.
"Jane, wait. There is something I need to tell you."
She turned again, completely sure she heard her name. The large dog moved toward her and spoke again and this time, she saw his lips move.
"Jane, heed my words. I don't know how you happened into this world; maybe you came here as I did. You must listen to me very carefully. You're in danger here. It would be better if you didn't go down to the village, at least not the village of AaBack. The others don't know what you truly are, but I can smell you. I know what you are, and you must not let anyone else know."
She peered at the large dog and the only thing she could think of to say after his warning was, "You spoke. You actually talked. Is this some sort of trick?"
"It's no trick," Lykos told her and then he whispered, "I was once what you are, luckily a werewolf bit me and changed me or they would have killed me. I could bite you and change you too, but only on a night when the moon's full. We're weeks away from that. It would be better if you went into hiding until then. You could go into the dungeon and hide. We have cleared it of the monsters, but you would still need to be wary of the traps."
"I see your lips moving like on a movie or video, but how are they doing it out here?" she questioned. "Are you some sort of 3D projection? No, you can't be. I touched you. How are you talking?"
"Jane, you must listen. Your life depends on it. Don't go down to..."
"What is going on here, female?" Red interrupted as she and the woodlands elf wizard walked over to them. "I thought you were going to go down to AaBack and look for your master, Great Warlock CellFone Ception."
"I think you misunderstood me," Jane stated, then she changed the subject by asking, "Did you find the item you were looking for?"
"No, we did not," Woodsman replied. "We believe someone may have ran off with it. Did you see anyone else down here?"
Jane replied, "I didn't."
Lykos sniffed the air again, and he realized what the other thing he had caught scent of earlier was the Tear of Poer. He remembered the woman said that she had gotten something in her eye, so he took a step forward and peered into her brown orbs. At first he saw nothing, but as he gazed closer with his enhanced werewolf vision, he saw the Tear of Poer embedded deep within her pupil. He wanted the gem as badly as the other two and as he glanced in their direction, he realized the woman was in greater jeopardy in her current situation.
Lykos scanned the area and then he asked, "Are those troll tracks?"
"Where?" Red uttered. "I see them now. They are. I am going to follow them."
She took off into the forest as Woodsman shouted, "I am coming with."
Lykos waited a few moments and then he told Jane, "If you are to make AaBack before dark, maybe you should be on your way."
"Oh... You're right."
"I'll walk with you a bit," he said. "Just until you can see the village."
"Thank you."
The two of them headed for the path and followed it down.
Jane waited a few minutes, then she turned to Lykos and questioned him, "Do you know who I am?"
"I know what you are," he answered. "I tried to explained to you earlier that you're in mortal danger."
"No, I don't mean that. I'm not sure what you were talking about earlier, but I want to know if you know my name."
"I do. It's Jane. Why do you ask?"
"I can't remember a time when someone did remember me. It's like I've been cursed, but I would have to say that all of this is weird. I'm talking to a large dog... or I guess you said you were a werewolf. Talking to you in itself is very unusual. I think I'm dreaming. I'm having a weird and yet great dream."
Lykos considered what she had told him and then he said, "You were cursed before you came here. Our arrival here is very rare and among the stories I've come across, I've never heard of one who's been cursed before coming here. I need to look into this anomaly a little more before we go through with making you as I am now. There is time. The full moon happens once a month, and it will appear again in about three weeks."
"Umm... You keep talking about making me a werewolf, but you never asked me if I wanted to become one. What am I saying? This is all a dream, and if I'm dreaming, does it mean I secretly want to be turned into a werewolf? I don't think so. I think I would want to be turned into unicorn before that," she said, giggled, and then added, "Isn't that childish?" She thought about it some more, laughed again, then returned to the subject by repeating, "I don't want to become a werewolf."
"You'll change your mind when you understand everything," Lykos told her, peered ahead, then turned back to her, and said, "I must leave you now. You can see AaBack in the distance. Go to the bakery and speak with the Muffin Man. Make him give you a job. His shop is located on..."
"Let me guess," she interrupted. "Drury Lane.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"It's my dream," Jane told him. "And my world has been full of fairy tales before I came here."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm an illustrator, so I have to do extensive research before I start a drawing."
"I didn't mean that," Lykos said. "Why did you mention fairy tales?"
She answered, "I guessed your story after I heard each of your names, and so I know what character each of you really are."
"Who are we?"
Jane replied, "Everything's different, way different, but I'm sure. The woman's Little Red Riding Hood. The man and you were easy. He's the woodsman, and you're the wolf."
"You can see. I've never met anyone who picks up on curses."
"You mean there's more to it?" Jane questioned.
"There is. Try to figure it out," Lykos told her. "I have a feeling you may be more than you appear."
"It's my dream," she said. "I'm supposed to be the hero."
"A hero, huh? Maybe you will be," Lykos stated and then he said, "The Muffin Man will work you hard, but he's fair. Remember don't leave his shop until he gives you a job."
"Okay. Anything else I should know?" Jane questioned.
"You aren't dreaming. I thought the same thing when I came here. The sooner you believe that, the sooner you can come to terms with your new reality. Remember it isn't safe here in the World of Grimm. I would tell you more, but as you will find out, curses place certain limitations on the bearer." He caught another glimpse of the Tear of Poer in her right eye and knew her destiny had been written much different than his.
"Before you go, do me one favor," she said.
"What's that?"
"Say my name once more. Say my name anytime we meet."
"I will, Jane. I will," Lykos spoke, then turned, going after the other two he sent on a wild troll hunt.
She watched him leave and wondered about everything he told her. Jane didn't feel like she was in a dream, but this world couldn't be real; it was all too crazy.
She started down the path again, heading for the village. Jane thought about dream versus reality. It was crazy enough if it was a dream, but reality... Guess she would find out once she arrived at AaBack.