Chapter 13: The World of Myth (and Land of Legend)

All three friends desperately want to run, but each stays on the circle of barren earth to help the other two. Slowly, in this way, each individual only managing to stay in order to support their friends, the semi-paralized trio inches forward until gnome, sprite, and brownie all stand completely on the barren patch of earth. The reddish-grey dirt is dry and grainy; no interesting rocks beckon to Atcher, no puddles call to Prism, no plants hope to sing with Tonic. The trio is frozen with anxiety, as if in stasis. Then, with a very deep breath (one full of trepidation and uneasiness), Prism, Tonic, and Atcher hold hands and reach out to touch the Tree Beyond the Garden.

Atcher waits anxiously; there is no mystical wooshing tunnel. Tonic tenses nervously; there are no sparkly lights opening a portal. Prism quickly loses patience and huffs in disappointment, “Wallowing currents! We’ve completed our Craft Conclusions, journeyed on a Wanderlust, met a dryad with a curse, were nearly stranded in a forest on our way to the Librarians, found a Knight and leveled a mountain, navigated an impossible village, crossed an endless meadow that’s only 20 paces across, walked further than I’ve ever been from home… but we made it! We made it to this tree to find Graemes. And nothing happens?! What do we do now?”

Impacted by the sprite’s words, Tonic considers going home; there is no longer the pull of the Wanderlust, the adventure could be done, and they would surely meet Graemes whenever the mentor travels this way again. ...but that seems so unfulfilling. To have made it this far, past so much, only to be stopped at the last step? 

Prism and Atcher watch their friend thinking, waiting for some idea. The gnome pulls out Graemes’ journal and reads the first decipherable portion to be found: “Whenever the world suddenly seems strange, when your heart races for no reason, when your senses sharpen and drink in every detail, when places you know are unfamiliar, when unknown places feel like home, that is a Lintel to the World’s Between. Find the Lintel, and you can cross over. Although the Lintels and Marginalia are often extraordinary, the actual travel of the World’s Between is gradual, often hardly noticed.”

“That was surprisingly pertinent.” Atcher quips cheerfully.

Looking around, searching for some indication of where to go or what to do, the trio remains baffled. They leave the circle around the dead tree and walk among the depression full of violets; the flowers are fragrant, the green of the vine tunnel is bright. Wandering back out of the vine tunnel, Tonic wonders aloud, “Did we somehow miss the right tree? Is that one last piece of the Marginalia; multiple trees in barren circles in a depression of violets, and we have to find the right one?”

When the trio is out of the tunnel, Tonic turns in a circle. “Oh blister buds. Atcher, can you tell from your Stratigraphy Skirt where we need to go? I can’t figure it out.”

As Atcher begins pointing out features on the skirt, Prism notices a wiggly movement drop out of the birchbark journal and asks, “Atcher; what’s up with your birchbark?”

The three friends see the Sudden Idea about maps wriggle free of the journal and start hopping and spinning. “Maplet?” Atcher asks, kneeling down close to the little Sudden Idea on the ground, “What do you want to tell me?” Maplet spins again, so it’s rose-star shell twirls around, then points away into the thicket forest and squeaks at Atcher. “Thank you, Maplet! Back into the birchbark now.” Atcher helps Maplet back into the bronze bag. “It seems we go this way,” the brownie indicates with a gesture the way the Sudden Idea is pointing. “Maplet is quite certain that although it isn’t exactly the way we came, it’s the way we need to go.” 

“Perhaps there are multiple trees, then, and we just chose the wrong one.” Tonic muses as the three friends start off again. The forest is as thick as before, full of brambles and untidy trees. Something seems different though, perhaps the lighting, or a scent in the air. All of the friends are quiet, as each tries to figure out what has changed, or if anything has changed. Prism asks, “Is anything different? Or did we just expect so hard for it to be, that now it seems slightly changed?”

The group continues on. Prism watches the sky as they walk, and eventually says out loud, “It seems a good bit later in the day than it should be. Wasn’t it still before lunch when we reached the tree? I think we are nearing late afternoon now.”

Before any of them can think about this question, they come out in a large meadow of short grass, with a low, sprawling, brown box of a house in the center. There’s a brightly painted wooden sign above the door that shows a snail in a ribbon-bow. The words above the image say The Snail’s Gift in softly curved letters. Maplet lets out a contented trilling purr as the friends approach the building.

There is a friendly light glowing from the windows, a delicious smoky scent in the air, and a laughing bustle of activity from within. Tonic pulls open the door and follows Prism and Atcher inside. The interior is all wood, with polished wood floors, scrubbed wood walls, and heavy wood beams that support the ceiling. The building has additions that ramble in different sizes, and slightly different heights from each other. The room they enter appears to be the main room, as it is a fairly large cube, seating roughly 8 full tables of guests, plus some smaller tables besides. There is an open archway on the far wall, and a small step up, leading to the next room. Entering this second room, the friends see that it is about the same size and shape as the first, with windows looking out the back meadow, and more travelers eating and talking. There is a kitchen built on from the second room, the grain and color of the wood (and another, differently-sized step down) suggesting it is a further addition. To the left and right, the main length of the building, there are some hallways that appear to lead off to other rooms (probably bedrooms). The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, with a fair number of beings eating an evening meal. Prism, Atcher, and Tonic are greeted by a snail carrying a tray of fresh fruit bowls.

“Hello, and how’s the road? I haven’t seen you in the Snail’s Gift before. I’m Notyet the snail. You seem a bit bewildered; would you like a meal?”

Tonic’s tummy wombles loudy, and they all agree that they are hungry. Notyet guides them to a table and gives them fresh fruit, warm pumpkin-sage soup, and lavender lemonade. Brownie, sprite, and gnome eat gratefully at first, but soon slow down. The food is delicious, but they still feel uneasy because their heads are full of worries about their journey; this doesn’t appear to be the World of Myth, they don’t know how to cross the Lintel of the Tree Beyond the Garden, and they have no idea what to do to find Graemes now.

After a while of cooking, bringing meals, clearing dishes, and tending the kitchen, Notyet notices the new guests looking despondent, their food only half-nibbled. The snail goes to the trio’s table, hoping to help them.

“What brings you here? I’ve been running this inn for a long time. Can I help you find anything?” Notyet offers. 

Prism fusses, “We were on a Wanderlust, but we seem to be stuck. We’ve been through so much and gotten to the Tree Beyond the Garden, but we can’t figure out how to cross the Lintel, which means we have no idea how to find Graemes.”

Notyet nods sympathetically. “That does sound troublesome. Can you tell me more of your journey?”

Atcher adds in more details of their travel. Tonic describes Graemes, and how the Wanderlust and everything started. Prism cuts in with clarifications. Soon, the friends have eaten their meal and told their whole story.

Notyet exclaims, “Quite the coddiwomple!... You’ve had such a purposeful journey, but to a rather vague destination. I think I can help, though. You did cross the Lintel, you are in the World of Myth. Well, nearly in the World of Myth. I keep my Snail’s Gift right on the edge. The worlds fade a bit into each other, so you don’t always notice right away. And there’s always a change from traveling the World’s Between. You should notice it soon enough. Don’t be too surprised if the changes seem like a steep price for traveling the World’s Between. It’s different for everyone, so I don’t know what to tell you to expect. I recommend resting up, then heading out in the morning. When you go, you’ll want to follow the paved path; paving is like smooth stone. I’ll show you after breakfast.”

Atcher yawns wide, and thanks Notyet. The snail shows them to a comfy room, then hurries off to finish cleaning the kitchen. Tonic comments sleepily “I’m exhausted, like all the hours we lost are catching up.”