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You've been wanting to take a look at this forest for a long time. There's always seemed to be something strange about it, something that made it different from the world around it...there are rumors floating around that it's actually an enchanted forest, and you believe it. Even now that you're in the middle of it and not looking at it from a distance, there are things that don't quite mesh with the real world. Despite the shimmery haze hanging in the air, colors seem brighter and somehow more real. Even though there isn't a single cloud in the sky, neither you nor any of the plants and animals around you cast a shadow. The landscape seems to be slowly shifting around you, and it's hard to tell exactly where you are and where you've been. Details like that fascinated you this morning, but they're not nearly as interesting now that it's mid-afternoon. You're tired, hot, hungry and lost, and all you really want now is a place to sit down and rest. Frustrated, you kick at a tree, but it moves out of the way before your foot can connect. Okay, you decide, this is definitely an enchanted forest. That unnerves you a little, but it also gives you an idea. You move over to the place where the tree was a minute ago and shout at the top of your lungs, "Is there someplace to stay near here? I need to sit down and take a rest!" The trees bend together as though they were whispering to each other, and then slowly move aside to form a path. You try to thank the trees closest to you, but none of them seem to be paying attention anymore, so you shrug and start walking. You think you've seen everything this forest has to throw at you by now, but nothing could prepare you for what you see at the end of the path--a huge castle built of yellow stone. There is no moat around it, but it looks scary enough without one! Gazing up at the arrow slits cut into the walls, you can just imagine hundreds of archers standing behind them, with all their crossbows aimed at you. Every battlement seems to be crowded with shadowy soldiers ready to throw spears and rocks. You can practically see the steam rising from the cauldrons of boiling oil being heated on the tops of the towers...Shaking, you tiptoe around to what you hope is a safer place to stand. Instead, you find yourself face to face with a cavernous doorway, barred by a spiky black iron gate. There is a strange symbol carved above the gate:
Written underneath it are the words:
You've had enough. You spin around and run toward the path as fast as you can go, but the trees are moving in to block you. Within seconds, the path is completely gone. You shout up at the trees, "I wanted a safe place to stay! This doesn't count!", but nothing happens. You're still alone in an unfamiliar place, and now you're even more lost than before. What do you do? |
