It was finally clear how the Crimson Wood had got its name. Only a few of the trees were still green, but all still had their leaves. An ocean of red leaves stretched out beneath them as far as the eye could see, even on dragon back.

  “This is a lot different from when we were here before,” Peter called over his shoulder to the others. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to find the same landing place as before.”

  “Good,” Andrew told him. Then he gestured to Anna. She understood and formed the wind barrier, letting him lower his voice as he continued. “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves this time.”

  “I guess. But where, though?” Peter asked. “Picking out the houses when they’re surrounded by color like this will be hard, even for Jarn. Remember the roofs were the same color as this.”

  “I see your point,” Andrew said. “And we don’t want to keep passing over, looking for the city, or they’ll see us before we arrive.”

  “What about the clearing with the fountain?” Anna asked. “That should be far enough away from town.”

  “I could ask Jarn if he remembers the place,” Peter said. The dragon rumpled beneath them. “That place where we first met Sheil. Remember, I broke my legs?” The dragon rumbled again, a bit lower.

  “We may want to try a different spot, anyway.” Andrew said. “I don’t want to be surprised if Wisps start congregating at the fountain again.

  “What do you mean?” Anna asked. “I’m sure Halcyon could handle it if they start showing up again.”

  “Only if he’s there,” Andrew replied. “We can’t take him with us into the city, and I don’t like the idea of leaving our dragon at the Wisps’ gathering ground.”

  Anna nodded her understanding. “I still want to check and see if any of them can show me something there,” Anna said. “Maybe we could find a place close to it?”

  “Jarn says he remembers the fountain,” Peter told them. “He remembers because there were actually a few ponds northwest of it.”

  “That’s a bit closer to the town then, too. Let’s land by the water then,” Andrew said. The others agreed, and Jarnvaror flew in the direction of the ponds.

  Jarnvaror landed with a splash in the shallows. The trees grew right up to the edge of the water, holding the bank together. When Peter slid down, Andrew noticed that what was shallow for the dragon still knee deep for the brothers. Seeing that Anna didn’t want to soak herself up to her hips, and deciding he didn’t like the look of all the algae in the water, Andrew used his brother to ask if Jarnvaror might take them to a drier spot to dismount. The dragon did his best to oblige, but the trees around the edge of the pond grew too close together for the dragon to make an easy way through. In the end, they dismounted at the very edge of the pond, where their feet still sank into the slimy water.

  “This isn’t a swamp, is it?” Peter asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Anna said. “Maybe a small one?”

  “Would it be a marsh?” Peter asked.

  “I think marshes are grassy,” Anna replied. She shuddered stepping out of the water as she heard the squelching in her boots. “Oh, I don’t like that.”

  “Neither do I,” Andrew muttered. He was sure some of the algae got stuck between his toes. But he shook his head and looked at the others. “Come on. It shouldn’t take us too long to get to Kalligair from here.”

  “We could stop by the fountain on the way,” Anna suggested.

  “That’s kind of the other direction,” Andrew said. He pointed the direction he was facing. “That ways is Kalligair.” He turned in a right angle, now pointing south east. “The fountain is somewhere in that general direction. Besides, I think we’d get lost trying to find the fountain from here. The town will be a lot harder to miss.”

  “I could go there while you go to the city,” Anna suggested.

  “I already said I don’t think we should separate,” Andrew said. “Let’s go to the city first. See how things are there, then find the path to the fountain while I figure out how to set up a meeting with Lord Sallowain.”

  “Oh. Alright then,” she said.

  “Jarn says he’ll wait here,” Peter said.

  “Great,” Andrew said. “Let’s go.” He struck out, Anna and Peter following after him. If the forest had seemed different from above, it was nothing from the inside. The whole sky seemed to change as they passed under the trees, all light becoming a soft red. If he looked up, Andrew could see the blue of the sky, but whenever he looked straight ahead, the whole world seemed to have become shades of scarlet. He wondered if he would enjoy the scenery some other time, when he didn’t have to worry about meeting with a potentially hostile Elf lord.

  Just as Andrew was beginning to worry that they’d been turned around in the forest, Peter pointed to through the trees, and Andrew saw one of the tall Elven homes he remembered from their last trip to the Crimson Wood. After a few more paces, he saw more. “Stay close,” he said to the other two, keeping his voice low. He made a point of walking with his back straight and eyes forward.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  They’d discussed at length on the way here whether or not they should try and remain hidden within the city, and how. There was no debate about announcing their arrival by riding in on the dragon, but Andrew was worried about actually approaching Lord Sallowain. He’d mentioned this to the other two. Both asked him what he though they should do about it.

  “You don’t have any ideas?” he’d asked.

  Anna had shaken her head. “I’m not sure I’d be good at sneaking around. If you think we need to, I’ll just follow you.”

  Peter had looked thoughtful for a moment, only to shrug. “It would be fun to try sneaking around, but I don’t think it would be the same as hunting. I doubt we’d be able to avoid being noticed by anyone.”

  Andrw agreed. And so, of course, the idea of trying to hide all the way to Lord Sallowain’s manor was dismissed out of hand. As he thought about it more, Andrew decided their best bet was to simply go and request an audience. If it didn’t work, he hoped the enchantments Anna had left on all their equipment would be good enough that they’d be able to avoid getting caught by soldiers or spells as they retreated to Jarnvaror.

  So, as they walked into the city, they walked as if they had every right to be there. The Elves waved cheerful greetings when they noticed the visitors. Most were too engrossed with their own business to notice them, though. The streets seemed a little quieter than before.

  “I’m not sure we were in this part of the town, last time,” Anna said.

  “No, we weren’t” Andrew agreed. “We’ll need to find directions. I want to see Lord Sallowain’s manor before we head off to the fountain grove.”

  “Why?” Anna asked.

  “Knowing where it is will put my mind at ease,” Andrew said. “I’d like to be able to think while you work with the Wisps. Come on, let’s see if we can find some directions.”

  The roads of the Elven city still seemed to flow. It was by no means obvious where to go for what they wanted. Yet the whole structure of the city seemed to carry them forward on an intangible current. Andrew felt like there was very little to choose between the paths whenever they forked, however much he wanted to follow the main road. He wasn’t sure how often they got turned around before he started recognizing the area around them, even in the red light of the leaves.

  “Hey, I know this place!” Peter said, echoing his brother’s thought. They were standing in front of one of the yellow towers, which had a sign over the door. “Lil and Lad’s!”

  “Oh, wonderful,” Anna said. “If Lil is here, we can ask directions to the Manor. We already know how to get to the fountain from here.”

  Andrew nodded, though he wondered if this city would turn them around no matter what directions they head in. Still, he opened the door. Inside, the shop was just as it had been, with fine wooden furniture lined up against the walls or in short aisles through the room. In the back, he saw the young Elven woman, Lil, her curly red hair tied into a long bushy ponytail. An Elven man with the same curly hair, but a much broader build than Andrew had seen on an Elf before, stood off to the side sweeping between the furniture. Andrw assumed this must be Lil’s brother, Lad. The two both looked up as the bell to the door rang.

  “Oh, more customers!” Lad said with a grin. “You look like travelers, but no worries! We’ve got plenty of baubles you might fancy. And if you’re interested in any of our bigger pieces, a friend of mine can help you get them shipped at least as far as Woadrok, and maybe even some tips on getting them shipped further.”

  But Lil’s face had flushed and she looked out of the windows, as if there might be other people lurking nearby. Andrew felt that was rather ominous. “We were actually looking for directions,” he said.

  “Maybe we should buy something this time,” Peter suggested.

  “Oh, you’ve been here before?” Lad asked. He glanced between them and his sister. His welcoming expression flickered as he looked at the travelers again. Then he glanced back at his sister. “They aren’t…”

  “They are,” she said.

  Lad turned back to them, his face showing a mixture of aw and fear. “The Wisp Seekers! You shouldn’t be here,” he said. “We don’t want trouble, but the Crown is looking for you.”

  “The Crown?” Andrew asked.

  “Lady Thalia,” Lad clarified. “She says you kidnapped the Scepters and were plotting with the Selasi and Ryukyuujin to divide Greealand.”

  “You didn’t do any of that, did you?” Lil asked.

  “No,” Andrew said.

  “We were protecting the king and queen from assassins,” Peter explained.

  “Now’s not the time to recount everything,” Andrew interrupted. He looked back to Lil and Lad. “Are you saying there’s a bounty on us?” he asked. Lad nodded. Andrew swore under his breath. “Alright, he managed, refocusing on the pair. “All we wanted was to talk to Lord Sallowain. There is a cue going on, and we think he may have information that can help us stop it.”

  “Really?” Lil said, looking more terrified.

  “We can’t help you,” Lad said, stepping closer to the trio. “Lil said she liked you, but we can’t be any help. It would put us in danger, too.”

  “We just want directions to Sallowain’s manor,” Peter said. “Your streets are pretty confusing.”

  “We can’t help!” Lad said. “If you want to find Lord Sallowain, you definitely will if you talk to the guards. But I don’t recommend it. Just leave the city. Try and get away from all this.”

  “I don’t think we can do that,” Andrew said. “But we’ll get out of your space. Thanks for telling us what you can.”

  He turned, taking Peter by the arm, and they left the shop, Anna following after.

  “We didn’t get anything from that, though,” Peter said.

  “We’re not going to put them in danger just to get directions,” Andrew said. “And it sounds like I was right to be worried about coming here in the open.”

  “So what now?” Peter asked. “Are we going to ask the guards for directions?”

  “No. We head to the fountain, so Anna can focus on the Wisps while I think of a different way to get in tough with Lord Sallowain.”

  “Then we probably should start going faster,” Peter suggested.

  Andrew saw what he was talking about. A pair of Elves wearing the armor of the Kalligair guards had spotted them and were approaching. Andrew was thinking that maybe they should have worn disguises of some sort. If they were wanted, guards all over would know their descriptions.

  “Should we run?” Peter asked.

  “I think that would just give us away,” Andrew said.

  “They already know,” Anna replied. “I think the one on the right knows us.”

  And as the guards approached, Andrew recognized the Elf she was talking about as the captain of the guard they’d met on their previous visit.

  “Well, I wish I could say it’s a pleasure to see you three again,” he said, approaching them. “But present circumstances would make that dishonest. I’m afraid I must place the three of you under arrest. Please do not resist.”