The Fourfold Key

“So not all of them die?” came Tom’s voice.

“What?” Ruth asked, cracking open her eyes.

“The merpeople’s victims. Not all of them die?”

“Oh, them. No they don’t. From what I gathered from Sea Foam, most of them come with them. To the City of Eternal Contentment.” She said the name mockingly, but seriously, how could you not? It was pretty much the dumbest name ever.

“Oh.” Tom looked back at the Lagoon almost…longingly. Then he shook it off. “How are you feeling? Are you ready to go?”

“Yep. Good as new.” She sat up and stretched. “Gee, I thought I was a goner. Thanks for all the help you’ve been, Tom. It means the world to me. It really does.” She met his gaze to let him know she was sincere.

Tom blushed, but pretended not to hear her thanks. “Alright, let’s get going then! You get the saddlebags, and I’ll get the rest.” He got up and slung the blankets over his shoulder.

She moved to stand, but as she did she became dizzy and was forced to return to her sitting position. The dizziness continued, then blurred and began to take shape. They twisted into lots of blurry blobs. The blobs then began to create the shapes of humans. No, not just humans, dwarfs too. Ruth squinted. One of the human blobs stepped forward and began to speak. Ruth gasped. It was the Sorceress’s companion from her dream!

“My most humblest apologies for interrupting your work, my friends. I’m afraid I have a favor to ask of a select few of you. Would Wimble Jennsie, Torrie Fisher, Kalem Smithy, Morrong Bigeld, and Thimken Highmen please step forward?”

Five dwarves stepped into the light. Kilp nodded, pleased.

“Very good. Please, come with me.” He beckoned for them to follow, then turned back to the crowd. “And the rest of you, continue your business.”

The five dwarves followed him down a tunnel. They turned a corner, where the Sorceress stood waiting. The Sorceress led the five dwarves and Kilp to a small room with no windows. The only light in the room was a small candle on the table, which were the only two things in the room.

“Now,” she said, facing the dwarves. “As Kilp said in the cavern, I have a favor to ask. You see, in order to reach our goal, we must be rid of a certain obstacle. There are two people working to stop us. One is a rebel dwarf, and the other, a human child. A girl, to be precise. I want you to bring them to me. Is that clear?”

“Sorceress,” Thimken stepped forward. “We will certainly deal with this dwarf,” —here spat on the ground in disgust—“If you can call him that. But is it really necessary to meddle with the girl?”

“YES!” she thundered, eyes blazing. The dwarves coward. “She is the most dangerous! If you must choose between the two for any reason, get. The. Girl. Do you understand?” She stepped toward them menacingly. Thimken swallowed and nodded. “Good.” Her smile returned. “Now, I have planted a tracking device on the girl. Her name is Ruth McKenzie. The dwarf is Tom Smith. As far as I know, they are located near Mermaid Lagoon. Find them and bring them to me by whatever means necessary.”

The dwarves bowed and headed for the door.

“Wait a moment,” the Sorceress added. “Bring the girl to me alive. The dwarf, well, do whatever you think best.” She smiled once more as they turned to leave, then stopped them again. “Oh, one more thing. I almost forgot. Don’t come back without them.”

“Ruth? Are you coming?”

Ruth blinked. “Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. I just got a little dizzy.”

Tom walked over, a look of concern on his face. “Are you sure you’re alright? You look pale.”

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “Let’s go.” She swung the saddlebags over her shoulder and limped for the horses. Tom followed behind, brows wrinkled with concern. She swung her legs over the saddle of her horse, who she had named Willow, and they started off.

“Where are we going now?” Ruth asked, eyes on the road.

“We should probably go to the Gnome King’s Dungeons next. Then the Whirlpool, then Troll Swamps, then to the mines.” Tom rode beside her, pointing the directions of each destination. “Are you sure you’re alright?” he asked again.

Ruth nodded. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone about her ‘visions’, as she had decided to call them. “How far away is it?”

“Only about a day, but we’ll need good, fresh horses. We are going to have to make a trade.”

“Trade?” Ruth’s head shot up. “You mean Willow? Gone? But I just named her!” she complained. “She did save my life,” Ruth added, hoping that it might persuade him.

“I’m sorry, Ruth.” Tom shook his head. “This is the only way. If you want to find your father, that is.”

“No! I do.” Ruth sighed. “Alright, we can trade the horses.”

They traveled due north until mid-afternoon when they came to a bridge. Tom jumped out of his saddle and sat on the ground, eyes on the bridge.

“Why are we stopping?” Ruth asked as she too jumped to the ground.

“We should be able to trade here. It’s the only bridge across Dwarfshead River, so there’re bound to be travelers here soon,” Tom answered, not taking his eyes from the crossing.

“Why would anyone be coming out of the Gnome Forest?” Ruth wondered. “The gnomes are awful; why would they let anyone into their territory?”

“It’s an agreement all the kingdoms decided together. If someone wanted to go to another kingdom they would need to get permission from that kingdom’s leader. If the leader approved then they would receive something to show the others of that species that they were legally aloud in their kingdom. The gnomes use a type of berry. The person eats the berry, which leaves a permanent scent on him or her, that only a gnome can detect,” Tom explained.

“How come we don’t have anything to get through the kingdoms?” Ruth asked.

“Well, technically, we’re not very worried about moving through the kingdoms legally. In the Middle Kingdom, we met with the Queen, yes, but as you saw, Rosebud is a very trusting person.”

“What about the Fairy Kingdom?”

Tom shrugged. “They won’t ask questions unless we look out-of-the-ordinary. We’re dressed nicely, therefore they don’t see us as a threat. The rest of the kingdoms, well, let’s just hope we don’t run into anyone who’ll turn us in.”

Soon enough, a fat man with a wagon, a pony, and a horse arrived at the bridge.

“Hey! Wait!” Ruth called before Tom could say anything. “I need to talk to you!” She rushed over to him as fast as her bad foot could carry her. Tom followed, his expression telling her he expected the worst.

The man turned. “Eh? Whots this? A young lass and an ol’ dwarf. Strange pair the two o’ them. Especially the dwarf,” he mused. “Last I heard they was only supposed to be livin’ in the Mines.”

Tom’s face grew red at being called ‘old’ again, but he held his tongue.

“What you be wantn’, lassie?” he asked in his crackly, loose, slightly-English accent.

“Well, sir,” Ruth started, “I was wondering if you would consider making a trade. With your horses?”

The man’s face turned the color of a beet. “Me ‘orses?” he bellowed. “Ol’ Benjamin’s ‘orses?” he repeated. “I ain’t sellen’ me ‘orses, lassie. An’ there ain’t nothin’ you can do ta persuade me otherwise!”

“But—but sir! Oh gee!” Ruth cried, confused and dismayed.

He took a menacing step towards them, his fat figure forcing them back. “Look ‘ere. When I say I don’ intend ta trade me ’orses, I mean I don’ intend ta trade me ’orses. Have I made meself clear, lassie? These ‘orses are me pride an’ joy!”

“Yes.” Ruth’s voice was so small you could barely hear it. “Very.”

“Good.” Benjamin stomped off, leading his wagon behind him.

“Well that went well,” Ruth grumbled, plopping down on a nearby stump.

“That one changes his tune fast. Hrrmph, old dwarf,” Tom muttered.

They sat on the log together for some time, staring gloomily at the bridge.

“Ruth?”

“What?”

“Next time, I’ll do the talking. All right?”

“Fine,” Ruth grumbled, feeling frustrated and unwanted. Her thoughts drifted. Why does the Sorceress want me gone so badly? she asked herself. Are my visions real? Is David really working for her? What is the tracking device?

As her thoughts turned to David, she put her hand into the pocket of her overalls. Her hand bumped into something. What’s this? she wondered, and pulled the object out.

“His note!” Ruth exclaimed.

“Note? What note?” Tom asked curiously.

“Oh, uh, just a note from a guy who liked me. No big deal. I just forgot I had it.” She forced a laugh, but inside, her stomach was clenched.

“Of course,” Tom agreed. But he didn’t look entirely convinced. He was looking at her face with a concerned wrinkle in his brow.

Just then a faint rumbling was heard. “Oh! A traveler!” Ruth jumped up to greet the oncoming cart.

Tom leaped in front of her. They collided and both went sprawling. “Owww,” Ruth complained, rubbing her elbow. “What’d you do that for?”

“Remember what I said about—” Tom was interrupted by a worried voice.

“I say!” it exclaimed. “Are you alright? You two gave me quite a fright when you fell.”

Turning, Tom and Ruth saw that the voice belonged to a huge, hulking creature. He had kind, ice blue eyes and no hair. His skin was tinged a grayish-blue color and his feet were bare. His nose was wide and flat, giving him a very inhuman look. He wore a pair of tight pants reaching right under the knees, but no shirt.

Ruth shrieked and dove behind Tom. “What is that?!” she whispered fiercely. “Is it a troll? Is it going to eat us? Should we hide?”

Tom laughed. “No! It’s only a goblin.” Then he glanced at the goblin, who was looking at Ruth with a slightly insulted expression. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “She’s been living on the far side of the South Village in the Middle Kingdom. She hasn’t had much education.”

The goblin’s expression softened. “It’s quite all right. My name’s Pine Nut,” he added in a crisp British accent.

Tom introduced himself. “What were you doing in the Gnome Forest?”

“I was in the Gnome Forest to collect Kinter-berries. What is it you want?”

“Me and my companion, Ruth, still have a long way to travel until we meet our destination. We were…”

Ruth was trying extremely hard not to stare at the goblin’s squashed nose, but it was hard. She sighed. It was getting late, and after her Mermaid Lagoon experience she was very tired.

After a few more words with Pine Nut he faced Ruth a second time. “Ruth, would you retrieve our horses? Pine Nut has accepted our offer!”

Ruth trudged over to the horses and brought them over. “Here you are. Take good care of them.”

Pine Nut laughed. “Of course, little one, of course.”

Ruth opened her mouth to protest, then stopped. She probably did look little to the goblin. He was at least seven feet tall. More like eight, really. “This one’s Willow,” she said instead. “She’s really nice. Bye, buddy.” She stroked Willow’s soft nose. Willow nickered.

Pine Nut cleared his throat. “I’ll be off now. Thank you! I’ll see you soon!” He waved as he departed, leading the horses behind him.

“Why doesn’t he ride them?” Ruth asked after he was out of sight. “Is it because he’s too big? If that’s the case, why does he have them?”

“Oh, no. Goblins don’t ride horses. They use them to carry supplies. That’s all.” Tom walked over to their new horses and started to pet them. “These are fine animals. This one is a—” Tom stopped. Forgetting about the horses for a moment, he frowned and turned to the forest.

“What?” Ruth asked, leaning down for a stick. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. I just thought I heard something. Most likely a squirrel.” He went back to petting the horses. “Alright, we’ll just rest here tonight.”

Ruth nodded in agreement, too tired to care where she slept. They tied up the horses and got ready for bed. Ruth was asleep within seconds.