Lysander's Path

Given my recent exploits I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to  receive a phone call from Mellowdene's resident paranormal investigator - but I was. Mulder Honey-Fox wanted some information from me.

"Arabella Treefellow has informed me that you were key to opening a new path through Tall Tree Forest. If that's true I'd like to talk to you about it."

"Er, what do you want to know?"

"I had... experience... of the original path and I need to know if it is... more comfortable."

"I'm not sure what that means."

"May I visit you to discuss the matter? I can explain more fully."

 

I was intrigued by his reference to the original path. I knew someone else who would be too.

"That's fine but it would need to be when the children are out. I'd also like Darcy to be present. We have our own questions."

Mulder had no objections and there followed a series of phone calls to arrange a mutually agreeable time to meet. We also shifted the meeting to Mulder's office so that we wouldn't be interrupted.

o 0 O 0 o

Mulder soon got to the point.

"The new path to the clearing. Is it shorter? I once experienced the original path. Twice if one counts the return journey. Not something I cared to repeat. But if the new path is significantly shorter I would like to revisit the clearing and Chunglewood."

Darcy's whiskers twitched. "You found it unpleasant? I'd heard it was time-consuming.  The path took four hours I understand." 

"Four hours?" said Mulder, indicating that we should sit. "In one sense, yes. But it's more complicated than that."

Darcy and I exchanged looks and Mulder noticed.

 

"Tall Tree Forest is an unusual place and has been considered that way over many lifetimes. I think you know why."

"Wild energy," I said. "The Treefellows said as much."

"Yes, yes. But I'm guessing they didn't say how rare it is that such extreme effects of the energy are seen on the surface. Distortions of space are normally limited deep beneath the ground. You've encountered the so-called speed tunnels down there. Tall Tree Forest is an anomaly."

"Okay..."

"The Owl Collective have been interested in it throughout Sylvanian history. They ventured into the trees and were always turned back before getting too far. That's the same as it is today. Some determined souls were able to get further but their routes always twisted around and they eventually re-emerged not far from their start point."

"Brady Cornflower mapped a few routes like that," I commented.

"That would take a particularly directed mind," said Mulder. "Most wouldn't penetrate the forest too far. The Owl Collective included. Arabella Treefellow told me that her ancestors eventually decided that their resources were better directed elsewhere."

"They gave up?" said Darcy. "That's surprising in itself." 

"Not totally. They intended to return to the project at some point. Don't forget they are incredibly long living critters. A break of a few decades would not have been unusual." He paused. "Except one owl - one called Lysander Treefellow - a bit of a maverick, prone to going his own way - persisted in his investigations. The owls knew there was a clearing in the forest as they'd seen it from above - but it was inaccessible. Lysander was obsessed in reaching the clearing and after fifty years he found the path. Yes, the one that supposedly takes over four hours to traverse. He mapped it and went back to inform the Collective."

"Well, that's one mystery solved," said Darcy. "It wasn't the Chunglewood people that discovered the path."

"No. Definitely an owl who deviated from the Collective's plans. They had been a little concerned about his obsession but were delighted at his success. They went to check out the path. That's when they discovered the complication I mentioned."

Mulder went on to explain how Lysander's path led through a region where the wild magic within the trees was particularly... wild. It not only distorted space, it also affected the perception of time. Although the elapsed time for travellers was around four hours, most critters would experience the effect of significantly longer journey times. It didn't matter that time pieces would correctly display the interval - traveling along the path could feel like days. 

"This was often accompanied by a sense of intense claustrophobia," Mulder continued. "I had a bad reaction and had to recuperate in Chunglewood for a few days. I was sedated for the return journey. That's why I've never been back."

"Is that why most of the people of Chunglewood rejected using the path?" I asked.

"Most certainly. There were some critters who could tolerate the experience - most owls for example - and a few individuals are totally unaffected. Like Ricardo Porcini. And three or four from the Sylvanian Research Group."

Darcy frowned. "That makes it more unusual that critters endured the journey to establish Chunglewood. Why would they put themselves through that?"

Mulder Honey-Fox nodded. "I know. That's one of the reasons I'd like to return to Chunglewood. I wasn't in much of a state to ask detailed questions years ago. I don't believe they ever used the path. They must have reached the clearing by other means. I have my suspicions but I'd like to question the villagers to find out for certain." 

"You don't care to share your suspicions?" Darcy said, his reporter background kicking in.

Mulder turned, seeming to consider the request before responding. "I can do," he said, "if you remember 'suspicion' is the operative word."

We acknowledged this and he continued.  

"There is a theory that the Chunglewood people came from another realm. The term Woodzeez has been used although I don't know if that's the name of the people or the supposed realm. If they did come to Sylvania from such a realm there is a possibility something happened that prevented their return. The timing is interesting."

He paused and watched our reactions as he continued.   

"I say the timing is interesting as it seems a coincidence that Chunglewood became effectively isolated at the same time that the Chocolate Mine came into being. The same time that two creatures from yet another realm were transported to Sylvania and some wild energies were temporarily destabilised and redirected."

Darcy's mouth dropped open. "You mean... the Packbat?"

 

"It's a theory."

Unlike Darcy I wasn't particularly interested in the Packbat. I was surprised that Mulder thought that the people of Chunglewood might not be from Sylvania. The few I'd met looked like Sylvanians and acted the same despite what might be different customs. Not that it mattered. There were generations of families going back to the origins of Sylvania - like the Treefellows, Babblebrooks and Wildwoods - and "newcomer" Sylvanians like the Umberhounds and the elves adopted by the Murr-Grands. So what if the Chunglewoodians were newcomers from somewhere else? 

"Is that why you want to go back to Chunglewood?" asked Darcy. "To find out where they came from?"

"Amongst other things," said Mulder, "but I still need to know if I could tolerate the new path, Jackson."

"It's around twenty minutes to pass. That's fifteen minutes of winding before a straight path to the clearing. I also remember Ricardo saying it was quite some distance from the original path so the extra wild energy might not be a problem for you."

"That's encouraging. I'd particularly like to speak to their archivist."

"That's Owen Quiller. Merlin's helping him do some research in our library and he's still in Mellowdene as far as I know. Ricardo arranged for him to have a room near him at Minestrone House."

"Now that is handy to know."

o 0 O 0 o

Mulder had answered some of our questions. The mystery of the original path - Lysander's Path - was solved. I know Darcy had been particularly curious about it - but that's Darcy. Further, if the Chunglewood people had come from another place - or realm as Mulder called it - it might explain some of Owen's research. Searching for more of his people (were they called Woodzeez?) and maybe a way back. Were there other Woodzeez elsewhere in Sylvania? 

So. Still some questions. No doubt Darcy will be seeking answers!

o 0 O 0 o