[h3]Anise and Simon[/h3][hr]Water lapped around the bound wooden raft, glimmering thickly with the reflections of stars. The little Kith stared at the mask indicated by Anise, then stared past her at Simon, and then finally looked her in the eye again, breathing through his mouth.

[b]"The lake is forbidden,"[/b] he reminded her loudly, reciting a lesson all Kith knew by heart. [b]"Everybody knows that."[/b] He waited, watching her, as if he expected her to remember and change her mind.

When she didn't, the frog kith grinned and steadied the raft with his stick. [b]"Okay. I never broke the rules before, so if we get in trouble it's your fault, okay?"[/b] He waved an arm at them both to come forward. [b]"Ya gotta get on. It'll take a hundred years to walk there and you'll probably be eaten by voles anyway. Everybody knows that. And keep quiet."[/b] Although he had been nearly shouting, he gave this last bit of advice in a whisper, a hand against the side of his mouth.

[b]"I'm Morlyenaim,"[/b] he boasted. [b]"But everybody calls me Morly. I'm the river captain. I know everything about the river. I'll get us there safe."[/b] He squared his shoulders and stood tall, holding his stick like a staff. [b]"And we won't even get caught I bet -- WAH!"[/b]

The raft shifted suddenly. Reus -- who had stepped on a corner of the raft in an attempt to join Anise onboard -- froze immediately.

Morly waved his stick at the big wolf. [b]"No Reus, you're too big! Bad dog!"[/b] Reus returned to the shore and sat down with a huff. [b]"Go back to the witch's house! Go home!"[/b] Morly continued waving his stick, showing off to Anise how he could boss around the big scary wolf. Reus huffed again with a sulking expression, but he didn't move.

[h3]Artemis[/h3][hr]The old man gave her a beaming, wrinkled smile, pleased beyond measure at her fine response -- and he cleared his throat and puffed his chest and looked up at the lantern in serious contemplation. He clasped his hands behind his back, and his armor clanked as he paced around the tree, his face turned up toward the red glow. He stumbled and righted himself and continued on as if he'd meant to do that.

In his observations he stepped up and walked across the metal platform. The runes in the metal did not react to the touch of his boots.

[b]"This lantern appears to be attached to that branch,"[/b] he announced finally, as if it had taken quite a lot of deduction to come up with that conclusion. [b]"But do not fret, my lady, for I -- Sir Jasper Enright Neary, Knight and Guardsman of Gryphon's Roost -- shall never rest until you have all that you desire."[/b]

He approached the tree with an air of confidence, grabbed a fold of the twisted bark, and hoisted himself up with a grunt of effort -- but his feet never left the ground. He stepped back and tapped his mouth thoughtfully. [b]"This ticking tree is a tricky one. Possibly evil. But I will conquer it."[/b]

He walked around the tree again, and for a moment he was hidden from Artemis' view behind the ticking trunk. When he appeared again, he was clambering laboriously among the branches above.

Something furry and leathery landed on a higher branch and screeched down at the old man. Sir Jasper waved a hand at it -- a creature that looked like a cross between a monkey and a bat, with bared teeth and long claws. [b]"Shoo, I say!"[/b] The motion threw the knight off-balance, and he quickly threw his arms around a branch until he was sure he could continue. The monkeybat cackled.

[b]"My lady,"[/b] he called after a time, finally crouched at the base of the very bough that supported the lantern. [b]"I must request that you stand in such a way that when I free this lantern from its support, you will be prepared to catch it. I do not think its casing will very well survive the fall."[/b] He drew a dagger from his belt, and on all fours he inched along the branch, closer to the hanging lantern.

[h3]Grayce[/h3][hr]The gnarled and twisting trunk of the tree was pocked with handholds and small branches, making Grayce's ascent much less difficult than it might otherwise have been. She would find a wide splintered gap in the roof of the room, where the tree rose past the deck of the ship, and Grayce -- climbing higher -- emerged out of the belly of the ship and into the cool night air.

The sky was vast and deep and encrusted with a galaxy of stars. From here, Grayce could see that she had indeed just climbed out of the hull of a wrecked wooden ship; it was splintered, mossy and overgrown with weeds and flowers, and had been rotting here on the beach for quite a long time -- but the captain's wheel was still intact, and a faded old blue flag rippled at the stern, remnants of the pirates who had once sailed her.

The water that lapped the rocky shore and soaked the ship's rudder was clear and fresh -- the smooth water that stretched out to the horizon was not the sea, but a vast freshwater lake.

Past the shoreline -- where the ship had run aground -- was a dark, thick forest that chittered and rustled with the night-sounds of creatures.

The great white tree stretched high above. If Grayce were to look up, she would find that she was not alone.

[center][img]http://jp23.r0tt.com/l_e87a85c0-9b65-11e5-b482-ad1ceb300023.jpg[/img]
[sup]by [url=http://reaper78.deviantart.com/art/Creature-Griffon-210542903]reaper78[/url][/sup][/center]

Something huge and feathered was perched on a branch high above. It had the beak and the wings of a gigantic white eagle, but the paws and tail of a lion. It wore armor on its head and limbs and had been fitted with a saddle. The gryphon's rider, if there was one, was nowhere to be seen.

The gryphon's tufted tail twitched, and it stared down at Grayce with a bored and curious eye.

Just above its head, the shine of the white lantern glowed through the gaps in the tree's trunk.