Of Hooves and History

The Empty Tree House

Besides the peace and tranquil of the forest came a sense of being enclosed as well. Unless you had a really good eye, trees and shrubs could end up all looking the same. So, we split the workload. I focused all of my attention on the tree trunks, while Sunny examined the ground and rocks for any markings. Izzy offered to hold the map and keep us on course, while listening for anything amiss. Soon the infamous phrase rang out.

"Are we there yet?"

"Nope," I repeated for the tenth time, examining a tree trunk for any carvings. "This will take some time."

Izzy groaned a little, but I ignored her and kept studying. Eventually, after half an hour of going every which way, I found the first rune engraving – in the shape of a backwards number 1.

"Too far west," I announced. "We're heading towards the sea."

We turned around and headed back, this time turning slightly north. I heard a slight "hmmm" from Sunny, but no words came out. Moments later, I spotted another marking on the back of a tree stump, a letter M.

"Eoh – horse, which could mean –" I began, before Sunny gasped in awe, pointing. "Look! Markers!"

It took a moment for my eyes to notice it in the leaf litter, but it soon became noticeable – three football-shaped stones jutting out of the soil in a row. A one-minute walk in each direction revealed another. And a little further out I spotted another rune with the letter R. Piece by piece, we worked out the path. Izzy had her ideas too – she cut a credit card-sized section of bark out of a tree every ten to twenty meters once we established a path.

And not a moment too soon, either! The forest got denser and denser as we closed in on the tree. Seeing through the leaves became increasingly difficult. Now every tree looked the same, and we had to constantly step over logs and duck under fallen branches. Izzy was getting tired, too.

"My head feels sore," she moaned, rubbing her forelock.

"It's 'cause you're suspending that map for so long," Sunny remarked. "Let Aiden hold it now."

With the lidded eyes of a migraine-bearer, Izzy floated the map over to me, and I gently plucked it from her magical grasp. Sunny kicked aside some leaf litter and dead branches to unearth anything below – and we soon found another row of three pointy rocks. And right in front of it was a birch tree with two carvings.

"Birch and sun," I stated.

"That means we must be close!" Sunny exclaimed. "It's now afternoon, so the sun's rays should be split soon."

Stepping through the dense undergrowth, a soft rippling sound cut through the noisy chatter of birds and other treetop creatures. It was too easy to recognize – flowing water.

"There's a river here?" Izzy blurted in surprise, before catching sight of a rune herself. "Backwards 1. Must be close... there!"

She eagerly pointed to two trees with a vine arch over it, with long leafy branches hanging down, intertwined by thicker vines growing up from the ground. Bordered on either side were car-sized boulders, and the amount of low-hanging branches of a decent thickness were minimal. It was obvious that this was an entrance of sorts.

"Hey, look," I said, noticing two runes that further cemented such a theory. "This means land or estate, and this one –"

"– Means a gift," Sunny finished. "Got your blade?"

"Yep."

I pulled the dagger out of its sheath and delivered a couple swift short hacks to the vines, cutting all the knots and loops. Sunny gave it a hard kick, and the severed vines jiggled loose. We pulled them free and tossed them aside, taking care not to leave any low-hanging loops that could trip us. Sunny and I brushed the leaves aside to reveal a sight that fit my description to the T.