They descended again down the stairs beneath the hollow tree. The floor was covered with dirt, but it was easy enough to walk through.
Once they got into the chamber, it was fully lit by the light from the grove. “Once we go into this thing, how do we get back?” asked Midor. “I was stuck in there for 2 years once.” [This is actually a big plot point. I should have set it up before.]
“We’ll pull you out the same way we did before,” said Vivian. “I’ll make sure someone is always standing guard.”
“We have people standing guard around this spot to watch out for the monsters anyway,” said Charles.
“Alright, then,” said Midor. “I suppose I should lead the way. I’ve been here before.” So Midor walked forward and disappeared into the grove.
Henry followed Midor. And then Carlyle and the pixies walked through next. Aefar came last of all. (Jacob the frog was still in Midor’s pocket.)
******************************************************
When they entered the grove, the chamber disappeared, and all they could see was the horizon. It was a bright light.
Aefar instinctively pulled his cloak up over his face to shield himself from the light, but then slowly lowered it once he noticed that the light did not harm him. “Catherine was right,” he muttered to himself. “It’s not sunlight.”
“What is the light source?” asked Carlyle.
“Obviously some sort of magic,” Midor answered. “That’s all I can tell you.”
“I thought this place was supposed to be dark,” said Carlyle.
“It is,” said Midor. “We need to walk towards that light on the horizon. It’s actually not the same as the sun--it’s a fixed point that it’s possible to walk up to, and then past. Once we walk past the light on that horizon. As long as we stay in the light, there are very few monsters. But when we go into the darkness, we have to be much more careful.”
“How long will it take us to walk into the darkness,” said Henry.
“About a day,” said Midor.
“Well, I suppose we should start walking,” said Carlyle.
“Possibly,” said Midor. “An important thing to remember is that there is no day or night in this land. It’s light all the time here, and then when we reach the end of the horizon, then it will be dark. So we’re going to have to decide when we want to sleep. I know it looks like daytime to us now, but remember it was dusk when we left. We’ll be sleepy in a few hours.”
“Not I,” said Aefar.
“Yes, apologies,” said Midor. “Everyone else I mean.
“Well, shall we walk for a few hours and see how we feel?” suggested Henry.
“Yes, let’s do that,” Midor agreed.
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