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“Whoa!” she gasped again. Now the map went into more detail, like
Stenfot Forest, the Trail of the Realm, the Elea Mountains, the Liness
Palace, the River of the Realm, the Rilite River, Tosna Fort, The Meadows
of Paradise, and Zeda. “The Realm of Possibility” was printed on the
bottom of the map. A gush of air blew through the open window. Gwen
looked out. She had spent so much time looking at the map, she didn’t
even realize the sun was already setting! Just then, she noticed the trellis
that lined the walls below her windows.
“Why don’t I just go for a little walk outside and around the village?”
she asked herself. Taking a deep breath, she stuck her foot out onto the
trellis. This isn’t so hard, she thought. The next trellis was rather wobbly,
but it held Gwen. Five more to go, Gwen thought. When she was safely
down, Gwen crossed the soldier’s field and climbed over the gates. The
villagers paid no attention to Gwen, as they were used to seeing her
wander around. When it started to darken, Gwen tried to head back, but
found herself hopelessly lost and turning around in circles. The streets
were dark, and everybody was inside of their hovels, warm and snug.
Lights were shining through the windows.
“I can find my way back by myself, anyways, if I try,” Gwen told
herself. Thinking that the thicket of trees a few feet away was the one that
separated the village from the castle, Gwen wandered even further.
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34
Unfortunately, a few minutes later, she realized she had wandered too far.
“Stenfot Forest!” Gwen whispered with horror. She didn’t even dare
look around. All she wanted was to be back home safely, tucked in her
own bed, without having to worry about the vicious beasts that roamed
Stenfot Forest.
“It’s useless to try to find my way in the dark,” Gwen said out loud,
“so I might as well just climb up a tree for the night.” Gwen soon found
that climbing trees in the dark and with a long gown on was very difficult,
but she made it to a spot halfway up that had many spreading branches,
without any injuries except for a small scrape on her arm.
“And now here’s where I’ll sleep for the night,” Gwen said, yawning
and reclining on the thickest branch.
Early the next morning, Gwen carefully climbed out of the tree and
found herself face to face with the largest species of wolf she had ever
seen. Gwen felt like screaming, but quickly calmed herself. The wolf might
attack if I scare it, Gwen thought. She felt around her gown for her knife
and, relieved, touched the blade. The wolf ’s yellow eyes glinted at her,
even though it was broad daylight.
“What do you want? Begone!” Gwen shouted. The wolf continued
staring at her.
“Wait a second…” Gwen suddenly had an idea. Her life would
probably depend on whether it worked or not, but Gwen was ready for
the adventure.
“C’mere, c’mere,” Gwen said, gesturing with her hands. The wolf
neared closer to her. Taking a deep breath, she jumped onto the wolf ’s
back. Springing forward, the wolf began to run at an extreme speed,
covering the fifteen miles through Stenfot Forest, all the way to Squanee.
The villagers turned to stare as Gwen, on the wolf ’s back, passed
through.
“Wolf-girl,” one fat little man said, stepping forward, “I congratulate
you. Are you aware that wolf has been the terror of our village for many
days? Our village braves, full-grown men, attempted to tame the animal.
Alas, it was an attempt, and they were unsuccessful. Now you, merely a
girl, have tamed the wolf, and your name will be a legend on the
Sq’uanak’s tongues after your own time.”
A great cheer arose. Gwen was about to pet the wolf when she
realized it wasn’t there anymore. She remembered what her grandmother
had told her about forest-demons who took the form of other animals,
but she quickly dismissed that idea. If it had been a forest-demon, why,
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35
then, she wouldn’t even be alive! Perhaps it was a good spirit, sent to
protect her. Yes, Gwen thought, that’s more like it.
“Anyways, we don’t even know your name yet,” a man said.
“Oh,” Gwen said, blushing. “I’m Gwen.”
“Well, anyways, come here,” the fat little man who had talked with
Gwen earlier stepped forward and took her hand, “and I’m Quincy.”
“Great suns! By the moon, you’ll be tripping all over on that gown!”
a tall, thin woman wearing a man’s tunic stepped out of the place Quincy
was leading Gwen to. Gwen looked at her in astonishment.
“We women and girls all wear men and boys’ tunics,” the woman
explained. “Oh, and, I’m Ivy.”
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