The trees then did something that sounded like very leafy laughter.
“This is true,” the Oak said.
“Can you tell me where he lives?” I asked.
“It is a short walk straight ahead for you,” the Ash told me, “His cabin is in a clearing that is impossible to miss.”
“All right,” I said.
I started into the forest, although my legs were finally starting to feel tired and my feet were beginning to hurt. I had barely slept in a day and a half, I realized. My eyes itched with tiredness and from squinting in the noonday sun.
“One last thing,” the Poplar rumbled. “The trees are all connected. We will hear of what occurs with you, no matter who you speak to, be it a two-leg, a four-leg, or a tree. We will know of it. Should you need us, speak to the trees, and we will hear you.”
“May the breeze be always at your back,” the Ash added.
“And may the spirits stay with you, Nikita Hyatha,” the Oak finished. “Go in peace, Listener of the Forest.”
“Thank you for everything,” I said. The title of ‘Listener of the Forest’ sounded rather intimidating.
With that, I stepped across the border between the wheat fields and the deep power of the Silvercourt Forest. Instantly, my weariness vanished. The energy of the wood was staggering; it flowed through everything in almost visible waves. It was not exactly magic, but it was a powerful, living force. It was all at once the energy of a thousand living things and the energy of the air itself, of newborn beings and the oldest trees in the forest, all intertwined and bound together like some massive net that allowed enormous freedom. The energy itself was something beautiful almost, but something that was also very intimidating and would demand respect.
The forest itself, beyond the sturdy outer perimeter, was actually quite open-looking and young. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the trees, and I finally felt that I was on an adventure.
My energy renewed, I continued on straight ahead, like the trees had suggested. There was a path of sorts that led in roughly a straight line in the direction I wanted to go, but the trail was somewhat overgrown and was covered in easily snapped twigs. I felt like it was unwise to be making such a ruckus in a new environment, but nothing stirred.
I reached Sparraben’s cabin about fifteen minutes after entering the wood. Although the energy of the forest still kept the trees looking sturdy but young, I couldn’t help noticing that they were growing closer together, limiting the amount of light that filtered through the canopy.
In Sparraben’s clearing, the occasional stream of light still shot through the top level of leaves, but for the most part, everything was somewhat dark and tinted green.
The cabin itself was nothing special. It was a simple structure made of wood with a few chairs in front and a chimney in the back. The door, as I approached it, looked sturdy and intimidating and very, very solid. The same panic that had visited me before entering the woods washed over me again. This time, however, I was surrounded by the energy I knew well, though I had never met it, and that was what pushed me forward, though I was still terrified.
Taking a few deep breaths, I knocked on the door, sure that the occupant would hear the pounding of my heart better than the knock of my fist on the wood. There was a few second’s pause, then a voice sounded from inside.
“WHAT?” It demanded in a gruff, angry tone. There was the sound of feet pounding against a dirt floor, then an angry-looking man about a head and a half taller than I was opened the door. “What do you want?” He spat, in a tone that implied that he wouldn’t comply with whatever I asked of him.
“I’m… I’m…” I stuttered, terrified by the anger in his eyes and in his tone. “I... uh… I’m looking for- for Sparraben of Li-Lianland in the name of Shyasha Rinkari, the scarred princess of the Three Cities of Illindara.”
“What about Sparraben?” the man demanded.
“I – my grandpa sent me,” I stammered. “He- he said Sparraben could help – help me with my – what I have to do.” The anger his glance showed that he was about to boil over. I wondered if I had interrupted something important that he’d been doing. Like sleeping. Or something. I was fairly certain that this was the same Sparraben that Grampa had talked about – he had the same scar under his right eye, which was brown, while the other one was cobalt blue.
“Who’s your grandpa, then?” Sparraben demanded.
“His name was Faug Hyatha,” I told him anxiously, “and he lived in Anana before he went on the Crystal Quest.” Something in Sparraben’s gaze flickered for a moment, but his stance was still aggressive and the flicker of emotion was gone in an instant.
“Look, I came out here to get away from all that, not to have MORE adventures,” he grunted, “so clear off.” He turned around and began to shut the door.
Although I knew it was terribly rude, I stuck my foot into the gap between the frame and the door before it shut. The reaction caused an immense, painful reaction in all of the toes on my left foot.
“Please, I need your help,” I begged, clutching my foot. “Please. I wouldn’t have come if it weren’t absolutely necessary. Would you please listen?”
Sparraben turned around and regarded me for a moment, and I saw again the flicker of emotion in his eyes. I now was able to recognize it as something that resembled either pity or hope. Although he seemed to be a shrewd man, the look in Sparraben’s glanced made it seem that he believed the tears welling up in my eyes were due to desperation rather than an instinctive reaction to the growing pain in my foot.
“All right then, girl,” Sparraben finally conceded. “What do you have to say?”
“Well… first, I wanted to say that Grampa told me stories about you and Shyasha Rinkari, and I think you’re amazing,” I started. I’d learned from attempts to force Jack to do stuff that starting out with flattery always worked best.
“Girl, I’m not going to waste time listening to you rant about how much you love me,” Sparraben snapped. “It only works to make weaklings listen.”
I guess that option didn’t work. I silently cursed Jack for being one of three people I actually talked to. “All right,” I said slowly, “I know you’re the best. Grampa always said it. He also said on his deathbed that I had to find you and get you to help me bring Shyasha Rinkari back from the dead and to convince King Telsiel that a war is about to happen because the Dark Lord, Sonru, is bringing down the forest to raise up an army, and you’re the only one who can help because you’re the best Ranger out there.”
“He told you all of this on his deathbed?”
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