“Step up. Keep close.” Mrs. Copperpot said over her shoulder. The twins hustled up. James and Grubby brought up the rear. “I don’t like the look of that darkening sky.” Mrs. Copperpot said, a bit more softly.

“Me neither.” Picker and Poker spoke in unison.

James looked, but he had no way of judging the sky except to say it looked like it might rain. He looked at Grubby, but Grubby ignored everyone.

“The twins are dwarfs?” James tried to make conversation.

“Yep,” Grubby responded to James’ question. “But I don’t hold that against them.”

“And you’re an imp.” James tried again.

”Yep,” Grubby said, and he puffed out his chest a little, but said no more.

James fell silent. He was naturally quiet and somewhat shy, so it felt easy to concentrate on walking and ignore the others. Besides, he had walked all morning and started to get tired and ready for a bite to eat, if anything should be available. He decided to save his breath and keep watch on the woods. Fortunately, Mrs. Copperpot picked up the string of the idea.

“But all young boys have a little imp in them, I think. Isn’t that right, James?” James nodded, but when he said nothing out loud, Mrs. Copperpot changed the subject. “We will come to a cross path in a minute if I’ve judged correctly. To our right, and not very far at all, we would find the Craggy Mountains where the ogres make their homes, but straight on, we should come to a little used back door to the castle, like a postern gate. If I remember, it leads to the third court by the bailiff’s tower, and I imagine it might be a door that the goddess has ignored if she even knows about it. I could not have chosen a better gate for our chances if I had thought all day.” Mrs. Copperpot sounded happy, but the boys had no way of judging. They would have to wait and see. “And here we are.” Mrs. Copperpot finished and stopped which brought them all to a halt. She pointed down a very wide, but leafy and overgrown path which James imagined led to the ogres. He did not want to go that way.

“I’m hungry,” Picker said, as soon as they stopped, and Poker agreed.

“I could go for a bite,” Grubby admitted.

“James?” Mrs. Copperpot asked, but again James merely nodded and verbalized nothing. “Then I think we might do lunch. Once we get into the thick there is no telling when we will have time for another meal. She sent the boys to collect firewood and somehow found a copper pot almost big enough for James to sit in. James wondered how she could have carried that without his noticing, or if perhaps she produced it by some magic. Mrs. Copperpot filled it with water from a nearby stream. By the time the fire got started, she started stirring something in the pot with her cooking spoon. James decided that had to be magical. In only a few quick minutes, they all got bowls of a rich, brown soup full of mushrooms and lentils, and they had a whole loaf of warm bread to go with it. James got more than enough, and it tasted wonderful; but for whatever reason, the others called it merely a snack. James got stuffed, but the others were not satisfied until they sopped up the final juice from the bottom of that big cauldron.

“Now, there’s some eating.” Mrs. Copperpot said, and a moment later, the fire went out and the pot vanished somewhere along with all of their bowls and utensils. Unfortunately, James missed seeing how it all went away because his eyes were trained on the forest which seemed to be moving on both sides of the path.

“Did I eat something I shouldn’t?” he wondered and whispered the words to himself. Mrs. Copperpot heard.

“No, James. I know what human people like.” She smiled for him before she got caught up with the concern that looked written on his face. “Why?” she asked and dropped her eyebrows to show concern on her own features.

“Because the forest looks like it is moving, all swirling around.” He waved his arms, and Poker saw what it was.

“Snakes!” Poker shouted. As if in answer, a rattlesnake came up across the path behind them to effectively cut off their retreat. Two great black snakes with red marks on their backs slithered up on the path in front and that left only the ogre way to the Craggy Mountains open. James did not want to go that way, but they had no choice. They all began to back down that path and kept as much to the center as they could with one eye on the leaves that covered the way in case those leaves should move on their own.

“Yikes!” Grubby jumped away and spoiled the strike of a python which reached out from behind a tree.

“There must be thousands of them!” Picker shouted, and with that word still fresh in their ears, they heard the “Toot! Toot!” of a little horn in the distance. Only a moment later, a little man rode up on the back of a fox, and a whole troop of weasels and mongooses and other such creatures came with him. The swirling in the woods stopped, though slowly, and many of the snakes started to crawl off, but many did not. They heard the sound of battle, such crashing and squealing in the woods as James had never imagined.

“Many thanks,” Mrs. Copperpot breathed.

“Glad I arrived in time,” the little man said, got down to bow to the dwarf lady, and then bowed also to James. “Name’s Pug, a common gnome. The Lord of the woods said you were headed this way, but I’ve had my eye on the postern gate for some time, and I knew the snakes were lying in wait. That demon what’s got the castle under her thumb is a sly one, she is.”

“I wasn’t scared,” Grubby said, but the words sounded hollow.

“Yes, well.” Pug did not contradict the imp, but he had more to report. “My friends will keep them back for a time, but the path you were on is not safe to travel, and the snakes will come back soon enough. Come. There’s another way around to the gate, and so far, it has been clear of guardians.”

“Double thanks.” Mrs. Copperpot returned a little bow to the gnome.

“Yes, well. I’m just a common gnome.” Pug spoke while he took the lead to get them out of that area. “But even I can see that you’ll never set Lord Noen free, nor the ladies going by that path.”

Pug proved surprisingly quick and nimble for someone who stood only two feet tall. James had a hard time keeping up; but it was not long before they found a side path which appeared very overgrown and looked like it hardly ever got used.

“I hope you’re right about this way being safe.” James still shivered from seeing that python make a grab for Grubby.

“Yes, well. I didn’t say safe, young master,” he said. “But safer, I think. I haven’t found anything too bad this way yet.” And, of course, James wondered what might be bad, even if it was not too bad.