The day after Alpin’s transformation, I dropped
by his house. Miss Aislene opened the door and when I asked if Alpin wanted to
come out and play, she said he had not returned home that night. She had
assumed he was staying over at my place. I promised her I would find him.
Searching in the direction he was last seen, I
reached the Thorn Fauns’ farm. Mons Blackthorn, the middle brother, a faun with
long, yellowish green hair, bright green eyes, and a heart-shaped face with a black
thorn on his forehead, was outside raking up some leaves. I have to say that
though Mons and his brother Pons do not look alike at all, everyone confuses
them because the color of their thorns doesn’t match that of their hair. Only
Fons Redthorn is never confused with his brothers.
“Do you know who Alpin the Unchangedling is?
He’s gone missing. His mother is really worried. He’s usually easy to find
because he leaves a trail of devastation behind him.”
All the while I was speaking, Mons was nodding.
He pointed at a metal pail and said it was Alpin’s.
“My brothers, Pons and Fons, warned this Alpin not to eat blackberries from a bush Garth the Pookah had defiled. He ate them anyway.As a result, he seems to have lost his mind. Or maybe not,” said Mons, stroking his bearded chin. “He seems to have never been sufficiently sane.”
“I agree,” I said, “but what made you think he
may have lost it?”
“He began to wander aimlessly about the forest
giving little hops, as if he were dancing. Pons and Fons followed him in case
he might hurt himself. But you know what this forest is like. It’s as extensive
as a magical place can be. Within it are myriad worlds. And next to it are many
worlds too. Alpin eventually entered a human kingdom that was in the forest’s
vicinity. My brothers could follow him no further. We fauns dare not consort
with mortals. We don’t have what it takes to deal with them. We can’t become
invisible, we can only disappear among trees. We can’t fly, like you can. Pons
and Fons turned back and returned home bringing this pail with them, in case
someone should come asking for the boy, like you have.”
Mons then gave me instructions on how to reach
the place Alpin had entered. I had to walk with my back to the sun and then
follow the first chestnut trees I saw until I saw the bananas.
“Bananas?”
“They’re a bit different from regular bananas
because they are blue from the cold. But they are bananas indeed, and grow on
banana trees. Be careful not to get hit by exploding burrs. It’s their time to
burst open and spew out three chestnuts they keep inside.”
I thanked Mons for the information and the
warning about the chestnut burrs and went on my way. I had no trouble finding
the spot he had described, for the instructions he had given me were detailed
and easy to follow. I managed to avoid the flying chestnuts, though I did get
to see a few burrs explode.
Before entering mortal territory I made myself
invisible. This spot was new to me, so it was safer not to be seen. Above huts
and humble wooden houses towered a very large, walled building, high up on a
hill. I flew over the wall and entered what looked like a prison but had to be
a palace, for there was someone that had to be a mortal king with a crown on
his head sitting on a throne. I will call this man the Greed King of
Ravagedland. He was arguing with an armed man whom I will call the Sheriff of
Bananawood.
The king wanted the sheriff to arrest a fellow
named Petey Pepperpot.
“But why should I put a stop to the goings on
of Petey? He’s an ok guy by me,” said the sheriff. “He steals from the poor to
give to the even poorer. He doesn’t mess with anyone of consequence.”
“The poorest of the poor have nothing to give
anyone,” answered the king. “The less poor could be giving us what Pepperpot
takes from them.”
“But why would we want another chicken?” said
the sheriff.
“Because
it isn’t ours!” hollered the king. And he added, “Get that
guy! And the chicken!”
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