Re: Chapter 3: Ghouls & Groves!
Elise sniffled as she released Grog’s leg. The little girl rubbed the tears from her eye and nodded. “Yes, I remember you. You always yell at Mr. Pockets.”
Wiping her nose, Elise appeared to muster her courage. “I know I’m not supposed to go in the woods, but Phoebe & I were playing ‘Princess Lenelle & Cela’. We were going on a special adventure to find a magical flower. We thought it was okay because it was still daytime! Mama says the monsters always come at night.
Well, Mr. Pockets looked for us, and he told us we had to go back home, but…but…!” Elise’s lip quivered. Before Elise could finish, though, the group heard a commotion.
“ELISE!” A frantic Miriam broke away from a band of villagers, racing toward her daughter and clutching the child in her arms. “Thank Pelor we found you!” A search party including Mercion, Joshua, and Laredon approached, as pleased to see the party as they were to find the missing child.
The shifted Druids fell in place alongside Azatch, trying not to draw attention to themselves. Nearby, Tara cast a spell to Detect Magic. She sensed…something nearby, but also sensed a resistance to her probe. She would need to focus to find the source of the active magic that she sensed.
Miriam broke her embrace, brushing Elise’s hair back and wiping her face with her blouse sleeve, “Elise, you nearly scared me to death! Child, I’ve warned you about leaving the gate! What were you thinking?!”
A smattering of voices joined Miriam’s.
“Brother Sundos, I am pleased that you returned safely from the Swamp!”
“Lenelle, how is Jason? Did you have to…?”
“Thank the gods we found Miriam’s daughter, but wasn’t there another girl?”
Miriam remembered Elise’s playmate. Curiously, she peered around the immediate swamp. “Yes. My daughter’s playmate, little Phoebe McCay.” She looked back at Elise with growing concern. “Elise. Where is Phoebe?”
The child started bawling again. Her mother gripped her shoulders, trying to calm the girl enough to get an answer. Joshua broke away to check the trees, but shook his head when he couldn’t find the girl. The adults pressed Elise, who stared wide eyed. “Elise, you must tell me, what happened to Phoebe?”
Finally, the child screamed, “She took her!”
“Who? Who took Phoebe?”
Elise shook with sobs as she screamed, “The Witch, Mama! The Bad Woman who took Papa away! Sheila!”
End of Chapter 3!