Chapter 10: The Homecoming

"Yes, he's right. It sounds like a warning roar. Did you ask him to keep a watch over the area?" Flora questioned.

"No, we told him to return because he's too large and that could alert Selene or her henchmen," Jim spoke in.

Roy opined, "I think he decided to help anyway on his own. But the point is what is he warning us about, if that is indeed what he is doing?"

"I think he may have seen Selene come back this way," I sounded out my worry. "How much longer do we have to reach?"

"It's hard to say," said Flora, "with this thick fog. Let's just continue and get there."

We started again, but luckily, shortly after that we saw a step. I guessed that we had reached the mansion. We climbed up the low stairs and the air was miraculously clearer now. In fact, the mansion was in clear view. A very large, ominous looking home. It reeked of gloom and had a sinister aura. It looked straight out of a Halloween poster.

We untied the ropes, and quickly went around the back, to avoid being seen by Selene, just in case, the warning was in fact to alert us of her return. There was a door at the back, which was locked. Steve materialized a crowbar and opened it.

It led into a very spacious kitchen. But it looked more like the witch's lab. Large cauldrons, jars containing vile looking things. I think they may have been parts of living creatures. Creepy does not even begin to describe it. We walked in silently, not knowing if there was anyone else in that house that we needed to be wary of.

Cautiously, we walked from room to room, until we saw a staircase going down. Surely that led to the underground chambers. Every room spoke of a lost grandeur that succumbed to centuries of evil shadows that pervaded the spaces. It was filled with an unholy stench.

We continued down the stairs undisturbed, gratefully, and walked past a pantry and a lumber room, until we reached a large door that was chained and padlocked. This is what Flora had described to us. Definitely, it is the room with all the hostages.

Just then we heard some shuffling sounds of approaching feet. The lumber room being closest, we darted into it. As it turned out, that was a smart move. We could easily hide behind the various pieces of old furniture stored in there. We could also clearly hear the sounds as they amplified and echoed in the empty passageway.

As we held our breaths to avoid any sound, the chains clanked when keys clicked lightly into the iron padlock, and then the large door creaked open. As soon as the door opened, we could hear a wave of pleas and soft cries.

Sadness grabbed my heart and I could feel the immense grief that Flora, Jinzic and all the others must be feeling. I could feel the pain of living everyday with the despair of separation with loved ones, who are captivated and in danger.

Just then, Selene heckled in her grating voice, "Quiet, you...bumbling buggers! Here's your food." And we could hear the shuffling and shifting of, possibly, gunny sacks. The door creaked shut again, and the clanking and clanging of the lock and chains reverberated.

Footsteps echoed for a bit and slowly faded away. We were afraid to move, in case she returned. After, what seemed like a long enough time, we finally spoke to each other to come out of hiding.

"I forgot that she was to restock on food today," said Flora. "God bless Archon for signaling to us."

I urged everyone, "Come on, let's do this quickly now. Steve, can you please draw up a door on the wall? We can't open this one as it's been hexed."

"Yes of course!" Steve quickly got to work and as he brandished his pen like a magic wand, the door became a reality. Flora and Jinzic gasped with joy.

They opened the door, and the sudden surge of wails, to surprise, to happy tears was heavy with emotion. I requested everyone to stay quiet and come out quickly. What if she returned? We couldn't take that risk.

There must have been roughly forty to fifty people there of various forest communities and of various ages. Jim told everyone to hold hands and they all quietened down and looked ready to follow our instructions.

As quietly as possible, we made our way back the same way we came in, shepherding the captives towards the back door. Roy went out front to check if Selene had left. He returned almost immediately to tell us all was clear. We took everyone towards the steps and told them to wait a moment.

An elderly dwarf, who was already at the last step, didn't quite hear me, and continued to walk into the fog. No one realized until it was too late. A few moments into the fog and we heard him let out a horrifying scream.

Everyone was aghast; I ran upfront to stop anyone else from following to check on him. The shock of the sudden loss brought tears to their eyes. I'm sure they had all formed strong bonds in confinement.

I told everyone to stay rooted and hold each other's hands to form a chain. "Roy, work your magic."

Roy took a few seconds to concentrate, and we were not only out of the woods, we were teleported directly to Fairyland. There were cheers of jubilation as everyone celebrated their freedom. Everyone was hugging everyone, and it was a happy sight.

Dulcea glowed with joy when she saw all of us and traipsed off to inform Queen Titania. The queen came immediately to congratulate us and led everyone to the castle courtyard. She wanted to formally address everyone.

News spread like wildfire in Fairyland and all the fairies joined the congregation to welcome any members of their family or friends, who had returned from their ordeal, and hear the Queen's address.

The courtyard wore a festive atmosphere. Tears of joy, and squeals of glee filled the air. I saw Archon and ran to him to thank him for his help, despite my instructions to not stay around the Dark Woods. After all, it was his timely warning, that helped us avoid any complications in the already difficult mission.

Refreshments and blankets were passed around for the returnees. The happy families thronged around us to express their gratitude. The Toon boys and I were being treated like heroes!

The Queen stepped out onto her balcony, and her attendant shouted "Hear Ye, Hear Ye All!"