“Hey,” he said, frowning. “How are we going to get the gliders to the top of a tree?”
The others also looked up.
“That just rankles the grouse monkey,” Astrid said with a sigh.
“Grouse monkey?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Yeah. A grouse monkey. Everyone knows what a grouse monkey is.”
“I don’t.”
Astrid shook her head. “You really are from another planet, aren’t you?”
“Not another planet, Astrid,” Teofil interjected as he paced between them. “He was raised in the human world. He doesn’t know about our magical beings and creatures. They stay hidden from humans.”
“Sounds dull,” Astrid said.
“It was,” Thaddeus assured her before looking up into the trees again. “So, back to the gliders. How will we get them up there?”
“We used all of the rope,” Dulindir said.
“Anyone know any levitation spells?” Teofil asked.
“Not for something that big,” Dulindir replied. Thaddeus wondered what he might be able to levitate, but decided not to derail the conversation any more than he already had asking about the grouse monkey.
“Look around everyone, see if you can find some other rope,” Teofil instructed.
Thaddeus slogged across the muddy street and entered a small house. The air inside was heavy with dust and damp rot, and he shivered at the sound of rodents scurrying through the walls. Maybe they were some of Astrid’s grouse monkeys?
A tree had taken root in a back room of the house and torn through the roof in its quest for light and water.
“Kind of extreme,” Thaddeus whispered as he looked up along the trunk. After opening several drawers and cabinets and finding nothing that could help them raise the gliders, he searched a few more houses with the same luck. When he returned to the spot where they had left the gliders, he found the others already there, all of them empty-handed as well.
“No luck?” Thaddeus asked.
“Same as you, it seems,” Astrid replied.
Dulindir looked at Teofil. “What about the vines? Do you think they would do us one more favor?”
Teofil glanced over his shoulder at the grave mound on the other side of the village. Thaddeus followed his gaze to where the vines lay deceivingly still, drops of rain glistening on their leaves.
Turning back to them, Teofil made a face and shrugged. “We have nothing left to offer them. We’ve already agreed to let them have the rest of the water in the Well of Tears. It would just be asking a favor.”
“Do you think they would help?” Thaddeus asked. “I mean, you’ve been very good to them, even though they’re a little… well, a little crazy.” Thaddeus felt a little crazy himself, talking about vines as if they were living beings. But he had to be open-minded to all things, especially here in the Lost Forest.
“I can ask,” Teofil said as he slid the strap of his pack over his shoulder. “Everyone get your stuff in case this takes a bad turn and we need to escape quickly.” He squared his shoulders and walked toward the mass grave.
“Should someone keep an eye on him to make sure he’s okay?” Astrid asked.
“I will stay here and monitor his interaction,” Dulindir said. “Would you bring me my weapons and jacket?”
Astrid smiled. “Of course.”
Thaddeus walked with Astrid to the house where they had sheltered.
“You and Dulindir seem to be getting close,” he said.
She gave a casual shrug but didn’t look at him. “He’s nice, that’s all. I like talking with him.”
“Uh huh,” Thaddeus said, drawing it out.
She stopped and turned on him, hands on her hips. “What’s that mean?”
Thaddeus couldn’t help grinning as he held up his hands. “It doesn’t mean a thing. I was only noticing that you and Dulindir seem to be getting close.”
“Well, we’re not kissing all over each other like you and my brother.”
“I bet you wanna be.”
Thaddeus dodged away as she tried to smack the side of his arm. “Such a strong reaction for someone who’s not that into him.”
She chased him into the house, both of them laughing. After some more failed attempts to smack him, Astrid finally turned away.
“You’re as bad a tease as my brothers.”
Thaddeus heard the plural the same time Astrid realized what she’d said, and their laughter and smiles quickly died away. He hesitated, then quickly approached to pull her into a strong hug.
“I’m so sorry about Fetter,” he said as she cried softly. “It’s such a terrible betrayal.”
“It’s the not knowing that’s the worst part,” she said against his chest. “I can’t imagine what he’s been thinking all these years. Is he comfortable? Is he safe? Is someone taking care of him? Does he remember any of us?”
“I wish I had even one answer for you.”
She gave him a tight squeeze and stepped back, wiping tears from her eyes. “I know you do. Thank you for that.” She turned away, then turned back quick and pointed at him. “But you still don’t get to tease me about Dulindir.”
Thaddeus laughed and held up his hands. “All right, all right. I won’t tease you about wanting to kiss Dulindir.”
Astrid took a threatening step closer. “Thaddeus…”
He laughed again and gathered his belongings. After shouldering his backpack, he helped Astrid collect Dulindir’s things and followed her outside and back down the street. Dulindir was where they’d left him, watching as Teofil stood facing the grave, arms outstretched, vines wrapped around his arms and hovering in front of his face as if listening. Thaddeus hoped Teofil wasn’t going to be punished because he asked for another favor.
“Should we move the gliders closer to the vines?” Astrid wondered.
“Couldn’t hurt,” Thaddeus replied. “Plus that tree down there looks to be the tallest in the area.”
“Teofil seems to be safe for the moment,” Dulindir said. “I shall assist you.”
The three of them carried one glider down to within ten feet of the mound. Teofil stood in the same place, vines around his arms and hovering before him. Thaddeus adjusted his backpack on his shoulders and followed Astrid and Dulindir back to the second glider to help them carry it closer.
When they set the glider down, the vines had just released Teofil. He lowered his arms and approached. “They agreed to help us this last time. But they want a guarantee.”
Thaddeus’s stomach tightened at this news. “What kind of guarantee?”
“That we will never return. Not only to the well, but to the village and this area of the forest ever again.”
“I think I can safely say that is one guarantee I’ll be happy to keep,” Astrid said.
“I second Astrid’s response,” Thaddeus added. “I’ll stay as far from here as I can.”
Dulindir was quiet, turning to look around the village.
“Dulindir?” Astrid asked. “You okay?”
“I was born here,” Dulindir replied. He gestured off into the trees. “Back in the forest a bit, but I lived here for years before I was banished. I knew this road and these people.” He looked at the burial mound covered with vines. “My parents are buried somewhere within that grave.”