The Fourfold Key

Ruth awoke slowly, blinking rapidly at the bright light around her. Her head felt like mush. She was in a sparsely furnished room with a low ceiling. Ruth was lying on a bed that was too short for her, her legs coming off the bed on the other end. A little man strode out of the corner, no more than four feet tall. Four foot two. she thought, and it all came rushing back. Ruth sat up slowly and glared at the little man.

“What,” she asked in a dangerous tone, “did you do that for? I was perfectly fine. There was no need to knock me out! Did you know that is the second time today I’ve been knocked unconscious?”

“No, I did not, and I apologize,” said Tom, “I didn’t mean to knock you out, so it was partially your fault too. I would have released you when they had left.

“You see, the gnomes are on the Sorceress’s side. But they are smarter than the Sorceress had bargained for. They want to use me as a bargaining chip if the Sorceress gets a little too…pushy, for their liking. They’ve threatened me saying that if I try to leave their territory they would take me to the Gnome King’s Castle and keep me there until they feel the need to use me.”

“Well,” Ruth said carefully, boosting herself off the bed, “I guess I can forgive you. And…I’m sorry about how I reacted. How long was I out?”

“An hour or so.”

“Alright, well, I guess you should tell me how to find my dad then. So I can go find him.”

Tom let out a deep, throaty chuckle. “It won’t be hard to find him, it’s getting to him that’s going to be the problem.” Ruth gave him a questioning look, and he continued. “I know exactly where your father is. Unfortunately, it’s not good news. Your father,” he said slowly, “Is now, at this moment, being held prisoner in the Dwarf Mines.”

Ruth’s head began to spin. She reached behind her and sank back onto the bed. “I have to go! I have to rescue him! Will you come with me?” she asked.

Tom shook his head. “I’m sorry Ruth, but if come, I could put you and me both in danger. I’m afraid they’ll recognize me.”

“But you know the way! I’ve never been here before; you would be so helpful!”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, “it’s too risky.”

Realizing she wasn’t getting anywhere in this argument, Ruth stood up and walked past him. “Goodbye then. I’ll remember you.” she grabbed her sack and headed for the door. Tom stayed where he was, looking as if he was afraid that if he moved, his legs would carry him away with Ruth. Just as she was about to shut the door behind her, she turned and said, “You’re going to regret this, you know. This is your opportunity to stop the other dwarves.” he shook his head once more, and she shut the door, leaving Tom sitting on his little stool.

Once outside, Ruth breathed in the fresh air. She couldn’t believe Tom had turned her down. His one big chance and he had thrown it away like yesterday’s garbage. She walked under the two trees, absentmindedly admiring their thick, green branches. She was almost out from under them when she heard a rustling in the branches above. She turned her head just in time to see a group of gnomes appear in the tree! They jumped from the tree onto Ruth and began to tie her arms to her sides. Ruth’s heart leapt with fright.

“To—” she began to cry. A gnome took advantage of her open mouth and thrust a bright green berry into it. The berry dissolved on her tongue and suddenly she couldn’t make a sound. It was as if someone had pushed her mute button. The only thing she could do was open and shut her mouth like a goldfish.

The gnomes giggled. Oh my word, their laugh is so annoying! Ruth was steaming. She knew she should have been frightened, but they were so small it was hard to be scared.

Ruth struggled against the tiny hands that bound her arms to her sides. A few of the gnomes dropped onto the ground and rubbed a pasty salve on her legs. They began to tingle sharply, like they’d fallen asleep. Then her legs gave way beneath her and she fell to the ground. With a mighty heave the gnomes began to roll her toward the woods. No matter how hard she tried, her legs wouldn’t move an inch. Great, she thought, I should write a book about this. What I did when I was twelve: Fall into a river and knock myself unconscious, find out I’m in a magical world and my great uncle’s from another universe, get knocked out by a dwarf, set off to rescue my dad, and I get kidnapped by gnomes. Fantastic. She imagined what life would be like living with the gnomes. She wondered why the gnomes would even bother kidnapping her. They have my dad, why do they need me, too?

“Ruth!” Her head snapped up to see Tom standing in the doorway, staring at the predicament she was in. He grabbed a club from the wall and raced into the mayhem. “I’m coming!”

Ruth grinned. She wondered if he had come out to tell her he had changed his mind and was coming with her after all. Tom was now clubbing the gnomes off to the sides, yelling and screaming as he went. At each satisfying thud or crack of the weapon a few gnomes flew up above them and bounced away. Some gnomes were running about, shrieking. Others were still trying desperately to roll Ruth away. Still more were just standing there, their eyes darting from Ruth to Tom to the forest into which they could escape. Since Ruth couldn’t talk or move her legs she began to roll in the opposite direction, straight over the gnomes. In a matter of minutes, they had scared off the whole bunch. When the last gnome had disappeared into the bushes, and Tom was done yelling, he made his way over and untied Ruth.

“What, I—why—are you alright?” Tom asked. Ruth nodded, still unable to speak. “Where did they come from?” she pointed to the two trees flanking his house. “Did they—why aren’t you saying anything? You weren’t this quiet earlier.”

She thought for a minute, then mimed a small circle with her fingers and pretended to pop it in her mouth.

“What? Oh, wait—the mumbleberries! The little green ones?”

She nodded.

“Don’t worry, they’ll wear off soon. Why don’t we go inside to wait it out?” He offered his hand.

Ruth sighed, relieved that they weren’t permanent. She couldn’t imagine being mute her whole life. It would be horrible. She grasped his hand and pulled herself up, but when she tried to put weight on her feet she stumbled and fell back to the ground. She lifted her jean leg and showed Tom the salve.

Tom growled. “That’s not permanent either. But I will need a salve of some sort to counter it. I believe I have all I need in the cabin.” he leaned over and scooped Ruth up in his arms. She was surprised at how strong he was, at least in proportion to his height.

When they entered the cabin, Tom set her on the bed and leaned her back against the wall so she could sit up. He hurried into what she assumed was his kitchen and returned a minute later with a bowl of past, and some paper and a quill pen.

“You can communicate with me this way until the berry wears off.” Tom explained as he rubbed the paste on her leg. She could feel the warmth of it flickering through her, then morphing into a steady, pulsing blaze. In a few moments she could shift her legs. She wrote:

“Thank you for saving me, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come out just then.” She was happy to finally be able to communicate, at least in some form, with Tom.

“Oh, you’re welcome. I’m sure you would have done the same for me. I would hope.” Tom blushed under his bushy beard.

“Ooh, does this mean you’ll come with me now? You’ve seen how helpless I am against like, the smallest creatures ever. Please? Think of what could happen if I ran into something bigger! And it won’t be outside your door when it happens again.”

Tom sighed. “You are so stubborn! Are you sure you didn’t plan the attack with the gnomes just to persuade me to come?”

Ruth laughed, or, she tried to. The mumbleberry still hadn’t worn off, so no sound emitted from her mouth. “Ha! No, I wouldn’t do that. But will you come? I REALLY need you.”

“Maybe…Well, hrmmph, I suppose. But I’m not happy about this so don’t try to make me.” Tom warned, lifting a finger.

“Thank you!!! You won’t regret this.” Ruth gasped and clapped a hand to her mouth. “Hey! I can talk again!” She bounced up and began to dance around the room, too happy to care who saw her.

“And move from the looks of it,” Tom laughed.

Ruth laughed with glee and rushed over to give in a big hug. “Thank you so much, Tom. And thanks for deciding to come. It’ll be so much easier with you along.”

“I’m not going all the way. I’ll show you to the Dwarf Mines and that’s it.” Tom decided firmly.

“Uh, doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I got my voice and legs back. And you agreed to come at least part of the way. We should go soon. Do you know how to get into the Dwarf Mines?”

“Getting in is the easy part. Opening the cells is the problem.

Ruth raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”

“Only the Sorceress can open them.” Tom scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably.

“What?!” Ruth cried, “Then—then how do I get in? I’ve got to save him, Tom! He’s my dad!”

“But,” Tom continued. “There might be another way. None of the other dwarves know this because they’ve spent all their lives underground. But up here, there’s a story about the Sorceress. They say that a powerful magician made a Key with the power to open any door and that it could not be destroyed. So powerful it would counter and destroy the Sorceress’s spell on the locks. He made it for the very reason of rescuing his wife from the dwarf’s prison. But he was caught and the Key was taken from him. The Sorceress tried everything she could to destroy the Key, but her efforts were futile. She compromised, breaking down the Key as small as she could—which turned out to be only four sections—and thrust them to the four most dangerous places to the North, West, South and East. But keep in mind this is just an old story, not anything that anyone has proven true.”

“But it could be true. Do you know where she put them?”

“No, but Queen Rosebud might. She’s the queen of the Middle Kingdom. She was very interested to learn about the dwarf claiming to have escaped from the Dwarf Mines—and who claimed all of his kind were evil—and sent me several invitations to come to the palace and talk to her. The first few made it to me by messenger and I had to decline, what with the gnomes and all, but she continued to pester me with letters until the gnomes were forced to drive the frequent messengers away. If I were to sneak away from the Gnome Forest, we could travel there and ask her. She might even know if the story is true; she loves books and stories of all kinds.”

“Great! Let’s go there first.” Ruth paused, then asked, “What happened to the magician who made the Key? Did she kill him?”

“She was going to. She planned to torture him first. She began by killing his wife in front of him, forcing him to watch. He was so overcome by grief that he might have just let himself die, but his wife’s last words to him were, ‘Fight to escape. If you love me, escape and live your life like I couldn’t’. Or something along those lines; it changes from telling to telling. Either way, he escaped and no one has seen him since.”

“Oh my gosh! That’s horrible.” Ruth covered her mouth, imagining what it would be like to see her husband killed in front of her—not that she had a husband yet, or was planning on having one anytime soon.

“Yes, tragic. Now, we should be going as soon as possible.”

“How far away is the castle?”

“Anywhere between twenty to twenty-five miles from here by my reckoning. It will take about a day and a half if we hurry.”

“Great!” Ruth exclaimed. “When can we start? Can we start now?”

Tom walked to the kitchen and began to fill Ruth’s sack full of food. “We can start as soon as I finish packing. Would you hand me that rope?”

Ruth handed Tom the rope and walked over to a stack of bags and packs. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Ruth questioned, reaching for a bag.

“If you could put a few blankets and two of those hunting knives over there in that bag, it would be most helpful.”

“Great,” Ruth said and began packing. “So, exactly how are we going to get Queen Whatever-Her-Name-Is to tell us about the Keys?”

“Just ask her. She’s been interested in me for quite some time. I imagine if I showed up she would gladly let me in to talk, and use her libraries. Then we will find out what we need to know. Hrrmph. Are you finished packing?” He questioned.

“Yes, I’m ready. Can we go now?”

Tom nodded. “If we hurry we’ll get there tomorrow before lunch.”

____________

Ruth walked briskly through the woods, smiling happily to herself. Wow. she thought. This is just like a fairy tale. I’m off to rescue my father, who has been abducted by an evil Sorceress. This is crazy! I’m only twelve! Gee, this is really crazy. I wonder how long I’ve been gone? Ruth shrieked. She hadn’t thought of that before!

“Tom!” she cried, running up behind him. “Tom! Tom! I have to go back! How long have I been gone in Earth time!? Is my family going to be really old when I get back? Oh gee, this is terrible!” She clutched her head, which was splitting with unasked questions.

“Hmm?” said Tom, who moments before had been lost in thought. “Oh! Oh yes, that. You don’t have to worry about that. When a being from Earth comes here, both worlds begin to work at the same speeds. As soon as that person leaves, the worlds start to work at their own time again. I think. You know, I can’t exactly remember if it was Idabelle who told me or just some old folk tale. But I’m fairly certain it was Idabelle.”

“But—but I’m not fully from there. I’m a bit of here, right? If what you said is true would that be enough?” Ruth asked.

“You’re not fully from Earth?” Tom looked surprised.

“No. Idabelle knew my great-uncle. He found a way to Earth and escaped from the Sorceress…” I wonder if he’s the guy who made the Key. She wondered briefly. “But she didn’t tell me his name.”

Tom frowned. “That’s…interesting. Though I suppose it makes sense, since he is here now. But the part of you from Earth should be enough.” Tom stretched. “I’m tired. It’s going to be dark soon. We should rest for the night. I’ll take the first watch.”

“Good idea,” Ruth yawned. “Wait, why do we need to take watches?”

“Need I remind you we are still in the Gnome Forest?” Tom asked, laying out their blankets.

“Right,” Ruth said, remembering the recent mishap with the gnomes. She shuddered. “Well, good night, Tom.”

“I’ll wake you in two hours.”

She laid down on the blanket, glad that she had Tom to protect her.

Beside her, Tom settled down in an upright position on his blanket.

Ruth looked up at the stars, happily twinkling in the sky. I wonder if they’re the same stars as the ones in our world. That would mean I’m not too far from Earth. She turned over to ask Tom and saw that he had fallen asleep. So much for me having some sleep tonight. she thought ruefully, and sat up to take her first watch. Most likely the only watch, unfortunately.

____________

Ruth awoke with a sore back the next morning. She stretched and looked at the forest around her. The trees were tall with luscious green leaves. Purple moss grew about the base of them. Little flowers the color of rubies dotted the ground. A flock of small white birds flew overhead.

Tom sat by a fire that hadn’t been there that night, cooking what looked like a rabbit. Tom noticed her waking up.

“Good morning.” he said cheerfully. “I see you slept well.” he grinned playfully.

She blushed. “Sorry I fell asleep, it was an accident.”

“It’s alright, I fell asleep before you did.” he said, laughing. “Do you want breakfast or not?”

“Oh! Yes, I’m starving, thank you!” She said, laughing as well.

Tom was in an especially good mood this morning. “Let’s eat.”

“So,” Ruth began, mouth full of breakfast. “how much longer ’til we get there, do you think?”

“If we begin soon,” he replied, studying the sky for a time, “I would say about mid-afternoon.”

“Great!” she cried. “Let’s get going!”

She jumped up and began to shove the things from last night into the sack. Chuckling, Tom stood up and began helping her. They finished as quickly as they could and started out on the second day of their journey.

Presently, Ruth and Tom came to a large river. Ruth asked Tom which river it was.

“This is Dwarfshead River. As soon as we cross it we will be in the Middle Kingdom, which is ruled by Queen Rosebud. That’s where we’ll find our answers.”

“How do we get across?” Ruth asked. The river looked about a half a mile wide. There was no way she could swim that.

“I had a little raft in these reeds at some point…I hope it didn’t float—oh! There it is. Now if I just pull right here…Oof!” Tom grunted. He had began to tug at the raft and it had come loose and sent him flying backwards.

“Tom!” Ruth cried, rushing over to her friend. “Tom are you alright!? Oh gee!”

Tom interrupted her, laughing. “I’m alright, Ruth. I’m fine! Just hit my elbow. You certainly are dramatic.”

Ruth blushed. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. C’mon!”

Together they boarded the rickety craft. Tom found the oars and they were off. The current was tricky and in some parts they almost capsized. After what seemed like all Ruth’s twelve years of life repeated, they made it to the other side and hurriedly clambered off the raft.

“Whew,” Ruth exclaimed, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Thought we were in for a wet surprise a couple times. Tom, I think you need a new boat. One that’s just a little less…decrepit.”

“Yes, I believe that may be a wise decision,” he too breathed a sigh of relief.

“How long will it take to get to the castle from here?” she asked.

“About an hour. But we might be stopped along the way,” Tom continued before Ruth could ask any questions. “I had expected us to wash down the river a little farther. We didn’t.”

Ruth gave him a questioning look. “Should I be worried?”

“The Middle Kingdom is split into two parts,” Tom explained. “The South Village and the North. I had hoped we would wash down to the South, but the current wasn’t as strong as I had anticipated.”

“What’s so bad about the North Village?” Ruth asked.

“The North Village is the…how do I say it…rowdier, half of the Middle Kingdom. Lots of drunken men and women and fistfights and such. We should get through fine as long as we don’t draw any attention to ourselves.”

“So, I should be worried.”

Tom didn’t reply.

“What about the South Village?”

“The South Village is the dead opposite of the North. We’d get through there with no problem. The North Villagers aren’t villains, they’re just a bit…crazy. Hrrmph”

“Lovely,” said Ruth sarcastically. “I just love crazy people.” She looked around nervously. “Okay, let’s go. I don’t want any insane guys to jump on us while we’re sitting here.”

“Alright,” Tom grunted, stretching. “Let’s go.”