CHAPTER 4
OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS
Within a couple of hours after the attack, Jonah and the two dwarves were out of the Twilight and racing across the open fields. Normally dwarves would be unable to stay astride full sized horses such as these, especially ones running at breakneck speeds. These, however, were Twilight horses; tall, sleek, and coal black. No other horses in all of Camelot were as fast, sure footed, and safe to ride. The only way a person could fall from an elfin horse was if the horse fell and the only thing that could cause an elfin horse to fall was death. Gob and Nob knew this, but it did nothing to relieve their terror. They both clutched fistfuls of mane with their hands and kept their eyes clamped tightly shut as the rushing wind tore at their coats and made their beards beat across their backs.
Jonah maintained this fanatical pace until they reached the pine clad hills where Amos lived. Once inside the cover of the trees, they found a stream to water the horses and stopped long enough to stretch their legs. Gob and Nob rubbed their backsides while Jonah tightened the saddles. Once the saddles were cinched down, Jonah helped the two dwarves back onto their mounts and then climbed onto his. Rather than skirting the hills and coming in from the backside, where the great meadow began, they decided to cut straight across. This route was shorter but much harder on the horses who were already tired from a long run. However, the grand horses never balked and attacked the steep hills as if they were fresh from the stables. Within a couple of hours, they topped a ridge and came across a trail that wound its way among moss covered boulders and towering Ponderosa pines. This path was wide and smooth and the horses were able to gallop along at an easy pace. Before long, they rounded a corner and there, nestled in the trees beside the path, was the little log cabin that Amos called home.
The last time Gob and Nob were here was back in the summer, when the forest was alive with the sounds of nature. Birds were singing, bees were buzzing, and squirrels were chattering noisily. Now, in the throes of winter, the forest was eerily quiet. A chill wind blew through the tree tops and smoke from the cabin's chimney was falling to the ground; a sure sign that a change in the weather was coming. Jonah knocked on the door, but Gob and Nob, naturally impatient as all dwarves tend to be, began to call out for their shape shifting friend.
"Amos? AAMOOSSSSSS!!!!!" Gob yelled.
Nob cupped his hands to his mouth and joined in, "HEELLOOOOO!!!!!"
"You two pipe down," Jonah whispered. "We do not know where Zoltan is hiding. He could be anywhere."
The two dwarves grabbed each other. Gob clamped his hand over Nob's mouth and Nob clamped his hand over Gob's mouth. Wide-eyed, they anxiously searched the forest, half expecting to see the terrifying black dragon lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce on them and gobble them up. The cabin door finally opened.
Amos had to stoop and duck his head as he stepped across the threshold. Gob and Nob craned their necks to look up at the big man as he approached them. As always, he was dressed in his furs and his curly black beard rivaled the beard of any dwarf. A huge grin split his face when he recognized his visitors, but a quick glance at their weary horses told him they had ridden hard and fast to get here. Something was up.
"Gob! Nob! And Jonah!" After a quick embrace and a warm greeting, Amos instructed them to go inside and get warm. "I will take care of your horses and then I shall be right back."
Inside the cabin, a merry fire crackled and popped upon the hearth and after a hard ride in the cold weather, the warm fireplace was a welcome sight. The three weary travelers removed their coats and stood in front of the fire to wait for Amos to return. Within the fireplace, a large pot was suspended from an iron rod and hanging over the fire. A thick brown stew simmered and bubbled as the flames licked the bottom of the pot, sending the sweet aroma of tender beef, carrots, and potatoes into the room. Gob and Nob licked their lips. They had worked up quite an appetite after such a hard ride. Their stomachs growled long and loudly as they wistfully stared at the pot.
"It's almost supper time, you know," said Gob.
"Yeah," Nob answered, not taking his eyes from the pot, "I know."
Soon Amos returned from tending to the horses and deposited their saddles, blankets and bridles beside the doorway. Knowing the dwarves’ insatiable appetites, he sat his guests at the table and set three bowls down before them. He then retrieved a long hook from the mantle and used this hook to snatch the pot from the fire. Gob and Nob scooted to the edge of the bench as Amos ladled the hot fragrant stew into their bowls. After he returned the pot to the fire to simmer, he waited patiently for everyone to finish. When Gob started licking his bowl, and Nob started eyeing the pot on the fire, hoping their host might offer them seconds, Amos finally spoke.
"What is going on, my friends? Those horses look as if they have run here, all the way from the Twilight."
"They have," Jonah answered. The elf and the two dwarves spent the next hour telling Amos of the events that led up to their harried visit. The big man listened patiently, not speaking or interrupting, until they revealed the reason for their visit.
"What does Marcus say of this?" he asked Jonah.
"The Keeper cannot see the future where Zoltan is concerned. He does not wish to endanger Ben by bringing him here, but he would greatly value any counsel you and Louise might have to offer."
"But we have to have Ben," Nob wailed.
"Yes, yes, Nob is right!" Gob added, while yanking on his beard. "Ben is the only one who can help us! Begging your pardon, Amos, but you must bring him here. You have to!"
Jonah remained silent while Amos thought it over and the dwarves nervously fidgeted about on the bench. The giant man finally reached a decision.
"I will go through the Merlin Tree and try to contact Louise. I do not like it and I do not want her, or Ben, going to the Twilight, but Marcus is right; we do need her counsel."
"Shall we leave now?" Jonah asked.
"No, we'll leave in the morning. You're tired and your horses are spent."
Amos spread furs on the floor before the fire for the two dwarves. Since elves rarely sleep, he gave Jonah a comfortable chair near the fire and a soft blanket. Soon the cabin was filled with the sound of the two dwarves’ and Amos' loud snoring. Jonah pulled the blanket over his head and waited patiently for morning.
Amos was up well before sunrise and roused the sleeping dwarves. The stew was still simmering over the fire, so everyone ate a quick bowl for breakfast and then made their way to the bamboo patch that grew in the nearby meadow. Jonah carried the tack for his horse, while Amos carried the tack for Gob and Nob's horses. When they arrived at the bamboo, which stood tall and dark against the faint gray backdrop of the early morning sky, they deposited their saddles, bridles, and blankets on the ground. The horses were somewhere nearby, but there was no need to call for them just yet. Amos entered the bamboo first, followed by Jonah, Gob, and Nob. It was difficult for the big man to pass through the dense canes, but eventually they all made it to the center of the patch where the Merlin Tree was located. The tree was short, with two stubby limbs near the top. The trunk, however, was enormous and split down the middle, forming an opening, large enough to walk through.
"This is how you get to Ben's world?" Gob asked.
"Yes," Amos nodded.
"Have you ever been there before?"
"No. I have not."
Jonah could sense the unease in the giant man. He reached up and placed his hand upon his shoulder and squeezed. "There is nothing to fear. We have a tree like this within the center tent at the Twilight. It is a doorway to our home world. Just walk through the opening and you will be in Ben's world. When you find Louise, come back through the opening to return to Camelot. Okay?"
"Why can we not go with you?" Nob asked.
"Because Louise's husband, George, does not know of the Merlin Tree and Camelot," Amos answered, "and he cannot find out or he would try to destroy th
e tree. So I must go in secret and to do so, I must go alone. You see, as fond as I am of you two dwarves, and as much as I enjoy your company, you are just too loud to come along."
Gob and Nob planted their hands on their hips and started to protest, but Jonah stopped them. "I will need your help with the horses. We must call for them and ready them for the journey back."
Gob and Nob really wanted to see Ben's world, but they finally relented and watched in fascination as Amos prepared to enter the tree. The big man was so large that he had to get down on his hands and knees to pass through the hole in the trunk. Gob and Nob stared with slack-jawed expressions and mouths agape as he began to crawl through the opening. When Amos' head entered the tree it vanished. Gob ran around to the other side of the tree. He could plainly see Nob and Gabriel through the opening. He could also see Amos crawling toward him, but instead of coming out of the tree, the big man's body slowly disappeared as he crawled forward. First his head, then his arms and shoulders vanished, followed by his chest and waist. Finally, all that remained of him were two furry boots, and those slid forward along the ground and disappeared as well. Gob and Nob, speechless, stared at each other through the opening.
"Shall we get the horses now?" Jonah prompted.
"By all means," said Gob.
"Yes," Nob added, "Let's get the horses at once."
"Of course, if you promise to be really quiet, you could go through the tree after Amos."
"No, no, no," Gob answered. "It would not be right for us to leave you alone to catch and saddle the horses by yourself. We will stay and help you."
"Yes," Nob agreed, looking over his shoulder at the Merlin Tree, as he began to plunge into the bamboo. "Gob is quite right. We must help you with the horses. Maybe next time we can visit Ben's world."
Jonah smiled at the two dwarves who were noisily plowing through the bamboo to get back to the meadow and away from the bizarre magical tree.
When Amos crawled through the Merlin Tree, he found that he was still in the bamboo patch. He turned back to where Jonah and the two dwarves should have been standing, but they were not there. He then noticed that it was much warmer and realized that the Merlin Tree in Ben's world must also be hidden within a patch of bamboo. As quietly as possible, Amos made his way through the tall canes. When he reached the edge, he peered out. Across a small yard of winter-browned grass stood a white two story house with a wraparound porch on each end. Amos stood patiently and waited. After an hour or so, the door on the side of the house opened and a tall man, dressed in a strange outfit, came out onto the porch. The man was wearing some loose-fitting blue pants that came up very high in both the front and the back. The back had straps that came over the man's shoulder and attached to the front part of the pants. The man was wearing a brightly colored plaid shirt and a yellow and green hat. This had to be George, Louise’s husband. George made his way to a peculiar looking, shiny, green wagon. He opened a door on the front part of the wagon and climbed inside an enclosed area. When he closed the door, the wagon seemed to come to life, making a horrible screeching noise somewhere between the front wheels and belching out blue smoke from the rear. In a few seconds the screeching subsided into a quiet but steady rumble and the wagon started moving with George inside! Amos watched in shock as George and the fantastic looking wagon proceeded down the road that curved around the other side of the house. He did not know if he should try to rescue George, stay hidden, or run like crazy back to Camelot. He decided to stay put though and in a few minutes George and the noisy wagon that moved without horses were gone. Once again, all was quiet on the farm and now was his chance to find Louise. Taking a deep breath, Amos emerged from the bamboo and walked around to the side of the house where George had come out. He had to stoop to walk up onto the porch and he had to lean over to rap on the door. He heard someone moving about inside and then the door swung open.
"Did you forget your keys, George?" Louise asked as she opened the door. The fur clad giant standing on her porch startled her at first and then recognition dawned in her eyes. "Amos?"
"Hey, Louise. I'm sorry if I startled you, but we need your counsel in Camelot."
"What on earth for, Amos? What's going on?"
Amos turned, peeped around the corner of the house, and then turned back to Louise. "How long is George going to be gone?"
"Not too long. He just had to run into town to pick up a few things for me. Now, tell me Amos, why are you here?"
"Will you come through the Merlin Tree? Jonah, Gob, and Nob are on the other side waiting for us. As I said, we desperately need your counsel."
Louise was worried now. She could not imagine anything that would make Amos come through the Merlin Tree to seek her out. And that Jonah, Gob, and Nob were here did not bode well either. But Amos was right, it would be best for her to pass through to Camelot to hear their story. Time did not pass in this world while she was in Camelot and the longer they remained here, the greater the risk of getting caught by George.
"Let me grab my coat," she told the big man.
*****