Strange Noises Strange Eyes

There are many strange noises in a forest on an island: the hooting of owls, scurrying of small animals, crunching undergrowth of larger ones. Or are the hooting secret signals from man-eating natives moving into position to attack? Or angry grundle barrs? Or confused ellawyns about to blow the marooned sailors into the sea. Captain Wington imagined them all.

"Did you hear that?" Captain Wington said.

He gripped his sword tighter, peering into the spooky tree line for movement. Not that his frazzled imagination needed any proof. He "saw" plenty of movement without needing to see it, but when he pointed out the potential danger, his comrades pretended to sleep, which agitated the bejeezus out of the captain.

"Seriously! Did you hear that? Somebody?"

Not one eye opened. And who can blame them? The first time Captain Wington pointed out the danger, they all searched the woods. The second time, the stumpers searched the woods. The third time, Arrow and Jor searched the woods. However, after repeated false alarms, Captain Wington might as well shout out wolf.

Captain Wington lay back down, facing the dark tree line. He held onto his sword like a kid with a teddy bear. He was used to cities and ships. The forest in front of him had more monsters than all of Steven King's books combined, and that's a butt load of monsters.

Although the captain didn't see them, inside the darkness, a pair of eyes looked out at the sailors. They studied everything: the number of sailors, the types of weapons, the strange tree stump men, and the dwarf and elf. They hadn't seen their kind in over fifty years. They've never seen tree stump men. However, sailors are a different matter. They've seen plenty of their kind. The eyes continued studying the beach.

Just then, Captain Wington noticed the eyes. "There! There is definitely a pair of eyes! Glowing red!"

The eyes quickly darted to the noisy captain, and then, as fast as the eyes darted, they shut.

"I think it's time to deal with this pipsqueak," the owner of the eyes thought. With its eyes shut, it crawled towards the captain, relying on smell to guide it. Weaving around trees like a snake and as silent as a mime, it went to the beach. Opening its eyes just a sliver, it saw the pipsqueak clutching a sword. The poor guy appeared to be on the verge of peeing his pants.

"How do I keep this idiot from peeing his pants? The last thing I need is pee-soaked pants. The smell."

It closed its eyes again and crawled onto the beach. Captain Wington only saw sand and darkness, even though the beast lay directly in his sight. The creature paused within a few feet of his target, thinking how to best handle the situation. Then, an idea hit it. It grabbed a melon and threw it, hitting Captain Wington on the head. The captain fell without making a peep – knocked out cold.

The morning brought a cool breeze with fat, white clouds. The stranded crew began to wake. Arrow and Jor started roasting some melons to see if it enhanced their flavor. Lady Nimmo and the stumpers gathered more melons. Flimlet and Tim ran along the beach.

At first, nobody noticed Captain Wington's absence until breakfast, when Flimlet commented on how quiet it was without the captain screaming like a little girl. After the laughter died, the captain's crew looked around for him. They couldn't find him on the beach or in the woods. In desperation, they asked Lady NImmo's party for help.

"Over here!" Tim shouted. "I found footprints."

Everyone gathered to find large, inhuman footprints embedded in the sand.

"I've seen tracks like these before," Tim said. "When I was young, dragons lived with elves, sharing the forests and villages. I can't count how many dragon tracks I've seen. These are dragon tracks."

"Captain Wington has been eaten!" Nob shouted. The inexperienced stumper forgot that humans have blood. The truth is, he knew very little about humans, being the newest stumper carved to life.

"There's no blood," Tim said. "He was alive when the dragon dragged him into the forest."

Jor explained to Captain Wington's crew that despite their loyalty to their captain, it would be best if they stayed on the beach. Sea legs won't be any good in the forest.

Lady Nimmo's party tracked the tracks to a large cottage. Its size unnerved the otherwise cool party. The roof stood level with the treetops, and the door was so large an ellawyn could walk through without ducking. 

"How should we approach this?" Lady Nimmo asked Jor.

"I need to see who, or what, we're dealing with first." He motioned for Tim. "If we broke some arrows, could you fire fast enough to sound like knocking?"

Tim nodded, breaking off the points of three arrows. He aimed and shot the pointless shafts in a pattern that sounded precisely like someone knocking.

The door opened, and two red eyes looked around. That was it—just two eyes. No body! Jor's jaw dropped. He never anticipated an invisible creature because he had never heard of one.

The eyes spotted the spent arrows lying in front of the door. They peered into the woods.

"You all can't be sailors. You must be woodsmen," the invisible creature said. "I like woodsmen. When you recover, come inside and have a drink. I swear by Xer-Bane, I won't harm you." The eyes took one last glance and went inside, leaving the door open. "Don't be long. I have many questions."

The party looked at each other in amazement.

"We're not going – are we?" Flimlet asked.

"I trust him," Lady Nimmo said.

"I'm with Nimmo," Arrow said.

The party divided over the invitation. Jor cast the deciding vote by pointing out that his eyes and sword had remained unchanged. His magic would have told them if the creature meant to harm them.

They slowly ventured inside the mammoth cottage. To their surprise, the furnishings were normal-sized. In fact, everything was normal-sized except the ceiling, which was enormous. Dozens of Chandeliers hung from long, golden chains. Massive curtains covered the oversized windows. In the center of the one-room cottage, Captain Wington sat at a long, narrow table.

"Come and have a seat," Captain Wington said. "Lux won't hurt you. He's getting our food right now."

They all took a seat without saying a word. The entire scene was overstimulating. Normal size looked all wrong in this oversized room.

Lux sprang from a partitioned kitchen in a corner carrying two food trays. The trays seemed to float, along with his red eyes.

"I'm glad you took me up on my invitation," Lux said. He placed the trays on the table loaded with fried apples, fresh bread, roasted potatoes, and pan-seared fish. "I hope you like it."

One whiff made them realize their hunger pains. All of a sudden, the melons seemed like a cruel joke. This is what food was meant to look like. They abandoned their distrust and dug in.

They ate until their hearts were content and then ate a bit more. Lux waited until Flimlet stuffed the last slice of bread into his mouth before interrogating them.

"What brings you to my island?" Lux asked.

"A pirate took our ship," Lady Nimmo said. "He was gentlemanly enough to maroon us instead of forcing us to walk the plank. Which is the only nice thing I have to say about him."

"Hmm!" The eyes looked exasperated. "I know that part. The good captain had already told me. I want to know what brings you here."

Lady Nimmo struggled to have a civil conversation with two eyeballs. "Oh, you mean us? Well, it's a long story, but an enemy has captured our friend, and we are trying to rescue him."

"A friend? He wouldn't be like one of them? Would he?" Lux motioned with his eyes to the stumpers.

"Yes, he is a stumper."

"What are stumpers? I've never met or heard of one in all my years."

She hesitated to reveal too much to this invisible…What? Dragon? "They're tree stumps magically brought to life."

"By whose magic? Yours?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because I can smell magic and guess fairly accurately what that magic can do. Yours smells like a creative. I've not met many creatives. It's a rare type of magic."

"Since you know so much about me, perhaps you'd be so kind as to tell us about you." Lady Nimmo barely suppressed her annoyance.

"Ah, I thought we'd get to that." Lux closed his eyes, leaving nothing of himself to see. "I'm from a different age." Lux's disembodied voice said. "An age when Xer-Bane lived with us, flying from city to city, checking on his creation. During those days, he governed Wanowyn with perfect justice and filled the land with his joy."

Lux opened his eyes again, revealing one tear. His eyes looked down to the table, deep in thought.

"Centuries passed in peace until a race of dark elves united with the red dragons of Clyth Mountain to attack Xer-Bane, bringing war to Wanowyn for the first time. That's when I was created." He looked up. His eyes showed pride. "I'm the perfect spy. My job was to inform Xer-Bane of the enemy's movements and plans. We eventually won, forcing the dark elves and red dragons to relocate in the north, a cold woodland sparsely populated."

"The shadow elves live in the north," Flimlet said.

"That's what they're called today. They are the ancestors of the dark elves, and like their ancestors, they're no good."

"So, you say Xer-Bane won? Why is he no longer here?" Lady Nimmo asked.

"He did win. However, many in Wanowyn blamed him for the war and asked him to leave. Imagine that. His own creation. Well, it broke his heart, but not wanting to force himself on anyone, he agreed. I asked to go with him, but he asked me to stay and keep an eye on Wanowyn."

Tim hesitated to ask but finally mustered the courage to say, "You leave dragon tracks. Are you a dragon?"

"Yes, I am. Xer-Bane gifted me with invisibility, but on full moon nights, you can see me."

"Why are you here on this island? Are you no longer looking out for Wanowyn?" Lady Nimmo asked.

"My lady, I'm always looking out for Wanowyn."

She lowered her head, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you of neglecting your duty."

"I understand your frustration. These days are dark, and the shadow elves have left their land. You have a right to be frustrated. But perhaps I can lift your spirits. I've been doing some work since you all were dropped off. I followed the pirate who stole your ship and overheard him talking about a shadow elf named Lammerous. I asked around and discovered that Lammerous is docked at Mavtor. At the time, I was curious to know why you were marooned."

"He's beaten us," Arrow pounded his fist on the table.

"Be patient," Lux said. "I said 'lift your spirits' for a reason. There is a spy like me who watches Mavtor. You can't find a better city in Wanowyn for news. Anyway, he sabotaged their ship, which will buy you a few days."

"But how will we get there without a ship?" Jor asked.

"I have a plan that's going to sound crazy," Lux said. "I have a couple of buddies nearby, and I believe we could construct a box with ropes for you all to ride in. We'll secure the ropes around us and fly you to Mavtor. We could be there in a day."

Since no one could devise a better plan, they agreed to try. They built a simple box of logs, secured the ropes, and hung on for dear life. The invisible dragons took off. None of them got used to seeing ropes suspended in the air without any visible means of support, but they were grateful to be heading towards Mavtor.

While flying, Lux shared his plans to return to his island to fly Captain Wington and his crew back to Izen. Unfortunately, this would take several trips, hindering them from rejoining for over a week. However, Lux promised they would return as soon as possible and wished them Xer-Bane's blessing on rescuing their friend.

They landed far from Mavtor to avoid gawkers. The party thanked Lux and his friends repeatedly. The box took off again, ropes suspended in the air.

"That is a sight hard to believe," Jor said.

Flimlet shook his head, "Not even a few beers could make me believe it."

"Well, believe it, boys," Lady Nimmo said. "Tonight we rest, but tomorrow we get Oakaford back."

The party made camp and dreamed of fighting, flying, and that stupid cursed belt.