After a full day’s walk, they reached the edge of the light. They could see the darkness. “Don’t worry,” said Midor. “It is not complete darkness. It’s more like twilight. Once our eyes adjust to the difference, you’ll be able to see just as well in there as you out there.”
“A vampire can see perfectly well in the dark,” said Aefar.
“So can pixies,” chimed in Arlene.
“So much the better for you,” said Midor. “The one thing we will have to be careful of, though, is the ancient monsters. But I’ll try to help you avoid them.
And with that, Midor stepped into the darkness. The others followed him.
They immediately realized Midor was right. It was a sort of twilight. It took some time for their eyes to adjust, but after a while they were able to see once again.
“So which way?” said King Carlyle.
“I don’t know,” said Midor. “We need to find the witch Ambrosia right?”
“You lived here for two years,” said Henry. “Do you have any idea where the witch might be?”
“I never saw her in all the time I was living here,” said Midor. “Not that I would know what Ambrosia looked like anyway. I’ve only ever heard stories about her.”
“Yes, she was gone long before you entered the forest,” said King Carlyle.
“But there was a big congregation of the monsters in the swamps. I never explored that part of the land. I was always seeking the spots where the monsters weren’t.”
“Well, it looks like that’s the place to go,” said King Carlyle. “Let’s go and see what we can find.”
So they began to walk in that direction.
“How did you manage to survive in this land for two years?” asked Aefar.
“It wasn’t easy,” said Midor. “I learned to survive by first finding all the hiding places I could, and memorizing them. The good news is, I think I still remember them. But the second thing I did to survive was that any time I heard even the slightest bit of noise, I ran and hid.”
“Ah,” said King Carlyle. “That second one is going to be more difficult with all of us around making noise.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” said Midor. “So we need to keep as quiet as possible.”
“Pity,” said King Carlyle. “A group outing like this without any chance for banter is hardly a real group outing. We should be chatting with each other, telling stories to pass the time…”
“I agree, My King,” said Midor. “It is a real pity, but I think we need to be as quiet as possible if we are to survive. I promise you we will try to make it all up once we are back in the Castle Tauna. We’ll have lots and lots of time to talk all we want to.”
They continued walking in silence for a while. Although everyone was doing a good job at keeping quiet, Midor mentally noted that even this was not ideal. When he had survived in the land of the monsters by himself, there had been only him. It was only his footsteps that he had had to listen to, and it was very easy to tell when another set of footsteps was approaching. But now, there were several of them, and if they were being stalked by a monster, Midor wasn’t sure he would hear it in time. Fortunately, Midor noted to himself, the monsters here didn’t do much stalking. They were big stomping beasts who usually just ran through the grass.
The land of the monsters was mostly a grassland, although it was dotted with trees. (And Midor had taken shelter in these trees before when he had needed to hide.) The ground was still dry at this stage, although Midor knew it would get more and more swampy the further they journeyed.
“I don’t see why I should have to be quiet,” Aefar said suddenly. “A vampire has nothing to fear from these monsters.”
“Fine,” answered Midor. “Talk as much as you like.”
Aefar, who had been hoping to provoke more of an argument, just scowled and kept walking.
Midor knew that Aefar was at least partially right. Vampires are usually hard to kill. You usually need a wooden stake through the heart. But he wasn’t sure whether or not Aefar was completely right. Could the monsters harm a vampire? Would they know how?
There was a crackling noise. A monster was approaching. “Quick,” said Midor. “Hide!”
Midor guided Henry, and helped him climb up a nearby tree. (Midor knew where all the trees were.) The pixies also jumped up the tree. Jacob the frog was still in Midor’s pocket. King Carlyle, still in the form of a winged lion, flew up into the air. Aefar turned himself into a bat and also flew up into the air. They all waited, but the monster passed by them without even seeming to notice them. “Safe,” said Carlyle, returning to the ground.
“For now,” said Midor.
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