World 2. Yesod Ashim I opened my eyes to green. Everything was green, above me, below me, and all around. As my eyes began to focus, I could make out the shapes of leaves, most of which were huge and fanlike. I was on the ground, propped up against a tree with my legs stretched out in front of me. I reached up to rub my eyes and remembered the satchel. I whipped my head around, but didn't see it. I stood up and felt a wave of nausea. I took long deep breaths to settle my stomach. I was in some kind of small clearing, it looked like a stopping place for travelers from the fire pit in the center. At the base of the tree that I had been leaning on was the satchel. It must have been underneath me. I grabbed it by the strap and slung it over my shoulder. Shafts of light filtered down through the leaves but as I looked toward the trees, I saw that the undergrowth was very thick. There appeared to be a path leading off to my left, it was very shadowed. I pulled out the notebook and glanced through it. I wasn't sure if Dyfed had been to this particular place, but it couldn�t hurt to see. I went through several pages reading carefully. I was supposed to be looking for a certain stone, possibly in a temple. There were a couple sketches of plants and animals in it. I read more of the notes. I found that he had described about nine different worlds, it read almost like a text book but it seemed to be a science fiction story. The things Dyfed had written in here were bizarre and confusing, but made sense now that I had somehow been transported to a jungle in the middle of nowhere. It didn't appear that I was going to need the breathing thing, and since there were no people around, I didn't feel like sticking that other nasty pink thing in my ear. Tucking the notebook back into the satchel, I headed off down the trail. I listened carefully, there were lots of animal sounds. I could hear birds chirping and singing as well as a shrieking that I guessed was some kind of monkey. A faint breeze made the leaves rustle, and there was a constant dripping sound. I pushed my way down the path for about an hour before I found anything other than trees, vines and animals. A huge python (or whatever they called ridiculously gigantic snakes in this world) was lying across the path. I guess it was about the center of it, with a medium dog -sized lump set right in the middle of the path. The head and tail ends were nowhere to be seen. It didn't seem to be moving much or very quickly so I carefully stepped over it and continued on the trail. The trail curved around to the left and suddenly stopped. Two large fanlike leaves crossed the path like a gate. I looked around, watched several brightly colored birds chase each other through the canopy. The shrieking monkeys were almost directly above me. Other than that I heard nothing. I pushed through the leaves and my jaw nearly hit the ground. Huge gray stones covered in vines lay scattered on the ground in front of an ancient temple. As I walked toward it, I felt stones under my feet, I was going through the overgrown courtyard. Most of it was covered in moss, only parts of the rock were showing. Wide steps led up to the entrance. There were tall columns on either side, carved with pictures of strange animals. There was a veranda along the front, broken pots and debris drifted up against the walls. I headed up the steps and stopped at the column on the left. I ran my hand across it, it was damp but warm. The animal carved on it looked similar to an elephant, but it looked like it had three trunks instead of one. Its tusks were long and curved, like a wooly mammoth. A glittering red stone was in place of its eye and bits of flaking paint covered the rest of the body. I looked across to the other column. There was another "elephant" facing the first one. They stood as guards to this temple, I had the feeling that I wouldn't want to run into one of them. If they were the size of a small dog, I wouldn't mind, but I had the impression that if these creatures did exist, they would be at least as large as a regular elephant from my home. So far, I had seen no other signs of people, except for the fire pit back in the clearing. This temple appeared abandoned, but I had the feeling I was being watched. Something was in the shadows inside. I looked up above me at the top of the doorway. There were beautifully carved stones inlaid with blue, green and red patterns. From my point of view, I thought it was a mosaic, probably for some kind of protection. They looked like shields, round and about four feet across. There were dark spaces between them and I caught a brief flash of movement. A darker shade of black in the shadows. I stepped through the entrance and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I pulled my flashlight out of my pocket and clicked it on. Scattered piles of leaves covered the floor, as I tried to tread softly. There was an altar centered on the far wall, with an elaborate throne behind it. I shined the light on the wall above the throne. There was a wooden carving hung there, identical to the one on the box in my satchel. In the second position was a sparkling dark pink gemstone, flashing in the beam of my flashlight. I walked over to it as quickly as I could. I put the flashlight in my mouth and took out my knife. Standing on the seat of the throne, I could barely reach it. I managed to get the blade under the stone and wiggled it around. It wasn't a very tight fit and I almost dropped it as the stone popped out toward me. I held it up and was admiring it when I heard something behind me. There were two large forms standing in the middle of the room watching me. I put the stone in my mouth, and stepped down from the seat. Clicking it off and pointing the flashlight at the ground, I slowly walked around the altar as the two men began walking toward me. When they were just about too close, I held the flashlight up and aimed right for their eyes. They threw their hands up against the glare and I quickly turned it off. I ducked down low and ran along the wall, not really caring if I made much noise. I didn't have much of a head start with them this time, but I planned on making the best of it. I came out into the light, squinting and ran down the length of the veranda. When I came to the corner, I found that it went completely around the temple. There were more steps leading down at the back corner. I went around to the back and took the stairs three at a time. I dove into the underbrush, tripped and rolled. Suddenly I found myself in a free fall. I flailed around, trying to grab for a branch or anything to stop my fall. I hit the ground landing on my hip. I slid down the embankment over the leaves and mud until I was at the bottom of the hill. I rolled a few more times and came to rest on the bank of a river. Not quite thirty feet away from me, a group of about eight men turned and stared at me. They were bare to the waist, each with a length of cloth wrapped around them down to heir knees. Their skin was dark and they all had very long dark hair. I slowly sat up, staring at them as they stared back at me. I was covered in mud, from my head to my boots. Pushing my hair back away from my face, I stood up. They talked amongst themselves and then one of them came toward me. When he was about three feet away, he looked me in the eye and gasped. Turning he shouted something to the others. They chattered excitedly to each other, as the first man reached out his hand. I took it and shook it. This seemed to puzzle him a bit, so I smiled. Still holding my hand he began leading me to a large canoe resting on the bank of the river. He had me sit at the front of the canoe, and the rest of the men piled in and picked up the oars. We pushed off and quickly found the current. I dared a look back up the hill, and saw two dark figures at the top of it, ominously still. We were moving away rapidly, and I kept my eyes on them until we floated around a bend in the river and I couldn't see them any more. The sun had come out and as the mud dried on my skin I began to itch, picking at the flaking mud. One of the men in the front row reached down and pulled out a cloth, handing it to me. I smiled as I took it and used it to brush my arms off. Then I took a closer look. It was made from the same material as my book and the other items that Dyfed had left me. So he must have been here, I realized. I continued trying to clean myself off, as best I could. I noticed a change in the men and turned around so I could see in the direction we were going. On the left was an enormous palace, shining it the sunlight. It looked as if it was painted in gold. Colorful banners flapped gently at the tops of the towers. Several more canoes were on the banks by the palace, and it appeared that the one I was in was going to join them. The men jumped out as we bumped up against the shore and pulled the canoe up onto the dry beach. I slipped the strap up on my satchel and slid my hand inside. I pulled out the little pouch, took out the nose plug and earpiece. I tucked the nose plug back into the pouch, and stuffed it back into the satchel. I reached up as if the tuck my hair behind my ear and poked the earplug in. The men's voices suddenly became clear and I could understand them. The man that led me to the canoe came back to me and helped me out. I stepped onto the sand and swung my bag around to my back. They led me up to the palace, but instead of going to the front entrance, they led me around to the side. Through an opening in the wall, I could see a large pool. An old woman appeared in front of me in the doorway and brought me inside. The men stayed outside, until they were sure I was inside and then turned to leave. There was a smaller pool inside at the end of the large one, and she led me toward it. There were benches lining the walls, and several hooks above them. On the bench closest to the small pool, there was a pile of material, a dark blue trimmed in silver. The old woman gestured at me to undress and get into the pool. I still had the stone in my mouth and as I pulled the satchel up over my head, I spit it out into my hand and tucked it inside under the flap. I felt it rattle its way down to the bottom as I set it on the bench. I pulled my clothes off, and not know what else to do with them, I just left them on the floor. The woman clucked as she picked them up, sounding like a disappointed grandmother. I stepped down into the pool, surprised at the warmth of the water. That was when I began to notice the stings of the scratches I received in my slide down the hill. I felt my hair being tugged on and the woman gestured at me to duck under the water. I obliged and felt her rubbing something into my scalp. It felt wonderful and tingly. I never did take the time to get pampered at all. When she finished with my hair, she took a rough cloth and scrubbed down the rest of me. When she was finished, I climbed up out of the pool and two young girls that I hadn't seen scurried up with towels to dry me off. One of them looked at my face and her eyes widened. The other followed her glance and she got a surprised look on her face as well. They finished during me off and led me back to the bench. One of them held up a short sleeved top for me to put on, so I took it from her and slipped it over my head. When I had pulled it down and got adjusted I looked back at them. They were staring at me in shock. I mean, sure the bath was nice, but I can dress myself. I just wasn't too sure how they wanted me to get all wrapped up like a burrito in the rest of the material. I picked the fabric up and handed it to one of the girls. It seemed to snap her back to reality and she took it from me and began twisting and folding and tucking it around me. The other one held it in place as the first continued around me. "Why did she do that, Jullah? Why did she just take it from me and put it on herself?" The younger of the two asked. "Hush, Jamira. Maybe her customs are different. We must do as best we can so that she is presentable," the second one answered. I let out a snort and they both stopped short to look at me. I almost started to laugh, but thought better of it. I would just keep my mouth shut until I figured out what exactly was going on. When they finished with the garments, Jullah picked up a pair of blue slippers and I slid my feet into them. Jamira took my hand and started to lead me away. I jerked my hand back and picked up my satchel. I smiled as I gripped it then let them take me into another room. They sat me down in a chair placed in front of a mirror. I placed my bag at my feet as Jamira pulled out a case with matching sets of jewels, necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Jullah began combing my hair out, it was nearly as long as hers and the same black color except for mine had purple highlights. "Thank you Miz Clairol." She separated my hair and began braiding it. I looked over at the case Jamira held and pointed at an elaborate necklace set with diamonds and aquamarines. The aquamarines matched the color of my eyes perfectly. When they were done, they took me to the main hall. Jamira had positioned my hands properly and I was made to walk slowly. There were many people standing along either side. I kept my head down and eyes lowered as we made our way to a man seated at the end of the hall. He seemed to be a king or emperor and was watching me intently as I approached. Jamira and Jullah each took my arms and made sure I didn't slip on the steps up to his throne. "Look at me," he commanded and I raised my head. Then my eyes traveled farther up the wall behind him and then it was my turn to gape. There was a portrait of me painted as a mural on the wall behind the throne. I looked at the king and looked back at the wall. This was unreal! My face was as detailed as a photograph. It showed a parade scene, I was being carried in a litter and there were horses and people and more of those elephant-like creatures. They were huge after all, I noticed, just as big as a regular elephant. I'm sure about a dozen emotions played across my face. The man before me stood and put his hand on my shoulder. He turned me around to face the rest of the people in the hall and the room erupted in cheers. The girls took me back behind the throne, down a passageway to another room. There was a low table, several cushions and plants everywhere. The plants were so beautiful, full and lush with large trumpet shaped blooms. On the table there was a platter of fruit and something that looked like cookies. The room was separated in half by a sheer curtain, right now the curtain was tied back, revealing a bed on the other side. On a stool next to the bed lay my other clothes and my satchel. The girls had refused to let me take it with me, but assured me it would be safe. I sat down on a cushion by the table and picked up a piece of what looked like melon. It was sweet and dripped down my chin when I bit into it. I giggled and looked for something to wipe my face with. Jamira hurried over with a bowl of warm water and a cloth. She gently dabbed at my chin. The girls finally left me alone, although I could hear the guards at the door talking quietly. I went to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. I picked up the satchel and dumped it out next to me. The stone from the temple fell out last and I held it up to the light. I took out the board and set it next to me. There was a stone already in the bottom hollow space. The next cavity up was empty and my hand was drawn there. I set the stone in the hole and it slid down into place. The air seemed to crackle with electricity and there was a burning smell and the board began smoking. It smelled like sulphur and my eyes were stinging. I used the notebook to fan the smoke away. I pulled the drawer out of the box and looked that the stone disc. Now two of the smaller gemstones were glowing faintly and the next one was bright. I heard noises outside the door and slid the drawer shut. Cramming everything back into the satchel, I dropped it to the floor and pushed it under the bed as the door opened. I looked up with the most innocent face I could muster. The emperor/king lost his smile as he sniffed around the room. I shrugged, and stood up rather gracefully for me and walked toward him. He sat me down on the cushion by the table and began to speak. "Many years ago a prophecy was proclaimed.. blah blah.. blah.. need to find master disk for his part... We were escorted to the main hall, and I stood on the right of the throne as the ruler sat down. The two men in the long black coats were shoved forward and thrown down before us. I bent down to the emperor and whispered in his ear, "These are two that would stop me from fulfilling the prophecy." I was starting to get this funky formal speech down pretty well. He ordered them to the dungeon, and I was sent back to my rooms. As I turned away, I caught a glimpse of something on the other side of the dais behind the curtain. A bald misshapen dwarf was watching the two men with a strange look in his eye. His warped features made it impossible to read his expression. By this point I had a better ideal of what I needed to do here, but I had to read through the notebook more. I didn't trust any dungeon to hold those two men so I figured it would be best if I moved on to the next stone. I changed into my old clothes and folded up the costume leaving it on the bed. I went to the table and ate the rest of the food that was there while I read through the notebook. I didn't know when the next time would be that I got a decent meal so I stuffed myself, hoping it would hold me until then. I looked through the rest of the room, to see if anything else in here would be useful. I found a beautifully embroidered silk bag with a long strap. I changed my mind about the blue costume and tucked it into bag. I put it over my head then the strap of the satchel. Holding the flap open, I pulled the drawer out and rubbed the brightly sparkling stone. I braced myself for the cramps, but this time there was nothing. Except the feeling that someone had just reached through my bellybutton to pull me inside out. The lightning flashed and my legs fell out from underneath me. Here I go again.

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