“Milihn! You mustn’t do that!” she breathed quietly.
The large bird merely looked at his master with one jet-black eye. Denaeh nodded ever so slightly and he hopped off her shoulder, disappearing into the depths of the forest.
-Chapter Four-
Setting the Trap
The next couple of weeks passed by slowly, and Gieaun, Jahrra and Scede spent much of their free time working diligently on their nearly-complete lake monster.
“I really hope we’re done by Solsticetide!” Scede breathed exhaustedly as the three friends rode home from school. “It would be nice to do absolutely nothing over the winter break for once.”
They had just over a month to finish their project if they wished to have it done by the Solstice, but their weekend was already spoken for. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede had more exciting things to do than spend their few days off from school stranded on an island in the middle of a lake draping wet, smelly seaweed over a frame of wooden bones. Instead, they would be pre-occupied at the Sobledthe celebration in Lensterans.
“Until tomorrow!” Jahrra shouted as she reined Phrym off the main road and towards his awaiting stable.
She gave him an extra handful of honeyed oats and patted him goodnight, realizing that there was no way she was going to sleep easily knowing what lay ahead tomorrow.
Hroombra walked Jahrra to Wood’s End Ranch the next morning so that he could wish the children farewell. Jahrra had wanted to take Phrym and leave him with the horses, but Hroombra had insisted on taking her himself.
“Are you sure you won’t go with us?” Kaihmen asked the old dragon as he harnessed the horses to the family carriage.
“Oh yes, I’m sure,” Hroombra answered cheerily. “The journey is too long and tiring for my old bones.”
“Very well,” Kaihmen said with a grin, “but you’re going to miss out.”
Hroombra chuckled heartily, his golden dragon eyes crinkling with his smile. “Oh, I’ve participated in greater Sobledthe ceremonies than the one you’ll be witnessing today. I think I shall be content.”
Kaihmen could only shake his head in response. “You’ll have to tell us about those one of these days. Children, are you ready?”
After everyone was piled comfortably in the cart, Kaihmen slapped the reins and the horses started forward. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede turned to wave as they watched Hroombra’s form disappear in the distance.
It took them a few hours to climb southward down the Sloping Hill and make their way across the northern edge of the Oorn Plain. As the rickety carriage and its five passengers closed in on the wide Oorn River, Jahrra could see the sprawling rural city of Lensterans rising out of the farmland in the distance. Her level of excitement rose as the horses’ hooves echoed against the wide wooden bridge that spanned the river.
“We’re almost there!” Gieaun whispered harshly, as if speaking any louder would shatter this wonderful moment.
“Look! I can see people in costume already!” Scede added, pointing down a long street bedecked with cornstalks and colorful gourds.
Weaving between the light posts and the sidewalks were a few adults and several children clothed in brilliantly colored outfits. One man was dressed as a goblin, another as a terrifying demon. The cluster of children, squealing in the hysterical fashion of the holiday, tore ahead of them like a pack of magical forest creatures fleeing from some great doom. Jahrra felt a prickle of unbearable anticipation and it took every ounce of her energy to keep herself from leaping out of the carriage and joining them.
Once free of the tugging flow of the crowd and disorienting hum of music, Nuhra and Kaihmen led the horses to the stables and got them settled while the children hurriedly got into their own festive garb. The costumes themselves were composed of wolf masks and a tangle of multi-colored horsehair running down the backs of the coats they wore. The simple disguises were reinforced with wolf-like paws that they had attached to the ends of their sleeves, adding a final, gruesome touch to their grouldah attire.
As they explored the town, the three friends spotted other children both younger and older then themselves, chatting cheerily and walking past them without glaring or making snide remarks. They smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, hoping they wouldn’t see Eydeth or Ellysian. Once the three friends made their way further into town, however, they spotted a few of their classmates. Unfortunately, some of these people took it upon themselves to comment on their home-made disguises.
“Nice costumes, what are you supposed to be, starving wolves?” remarked a familiar crony of Eydeth’s. He was dressed, appropriately, as a goblin. “I can understand Jahrra dressing as a starving wolf,” he continued in a loud voice for all his friends to hear, “but Gieaun and Scede, you have enough money to afford food, and decent costumes!”
Jahrra seethed and glared at him, but as soon as he saw Nuhra and Kaihmen walking a few paces behind the children, the older boy ducked his head and ran off down the road. I wish I was a real grouldah, Jahrra thought furiously, his would be the first soul I’d come after!
The three friends soon forgot their unpleasant schoolmate and focused their energy on their surroundings. Pumpkins, apples and corn stalks decorated the wide streets and stone buildings, along with tattered scarecrows and gourds of every size, shape and color. Jahrra stopped to watch as several people dressed in a multitude of colorful costumes ran by, chasing each other in a spirited game of hide-and-go-seek. She gazed in wonder at some of the disguises, many of which put hers and her friends’ to shame.
A bright yellow lion with a full amber mane went whizzing by, roaring after a green and gold fairy with giant, ornate wings that jingled delicately with tiny gold bells. A group of adults sitting around a table at an outdoor cafe were dressed as great elfin warriors, complete with elaborately etched, shining armor and flowing capes. Further down the road and closer towards the center of town there was a group of children dressed as a flock of brilliantly colored tropical birds. Jahrra laughed as they chased each other around the adults, flapping their wings and squawking. Her personal favorite, however, was a red-hued dragon that looked remarkably like Hroombra, except for the color of course.
Once they’d walked through the main hub of town and seen all there was to see, Kaihmen and Nuhra bought the children caramel apples and piping apple cider. Jahrra welcomed the spicy, hot drink with vigor. It made her breath steam in the crisp air, warming her from the inside out. She munched on her apple as she and her friends looked more closely at the buildings they passed on the streets.
All of the shops and restaurants displayed their goods and products outdoors beneath wooden booths. Every one of them served or sold fresh harvest fruits and vegetables and souvenirs for the children to bring back home with them. Jahrra was thrilled to see so many wonderful things, from painted pinwheels to colorful paper dragon kites on strings. The group gradually made their way towards the town square, and once they managed to break through the thronging crowd, Jahrra gaped in wide-eyed wonder.
There, encircling an empty fountain in the place where several roads met, sat a cluster of children of every age, their eyes latched on dancers garbed as glittering fairies and silver unicorns making merry around the center of the square. Jahrra, Gieaun and Scede stopped and stared in wonder. It was like watching one of Hroombra’s or Denaeh’s stories coming to life. Soon, several other mythical woodland creatures joined the revelers, frolicking merrily while playing flutes and harps and clashing cymbals, twirling bright ribbons streaming from wands. The play lasted only an hour, and although the children begged for more, the unicorns and fairies pranced away to entertain another waiting group.