Episode 104: The Purple Crystal & the Shadow Man

Along their journey through the Forest of Forevermore to retrieve the purple crystal the princesses and the prince encountered a mysterious, dark man.

Transcript

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Episode 4: The Purple Crystal & the Shadow Man

Once upon a time in the land of Atheria, there was a Princess Nea and a Princess Lulu and they went on the most amazing adventures.  

Now, the princesses were trying to retrieve a purple star crystal that fell from the sky one night. They learned that the King Bealock of Gozdur had it but when they tried to get it back, an elf had actually pick-pocketed it from the Ogre King himself before Nea and Lulu could, then ran off before they could catch her. And now, the princesses needed to figure out how to get it back … again. 

Princess Nea and Lulu had hoped that they could find out more about these crystals from Tuck, but when they looked for him in the eastern gardens, he was nowhere to be found. They did run into Prince Paul, who they had accidentally left with the King Bealock at the concert. Now, one thing that Prince Paul knew was that the elves lived in a grotto deep within the Forest of Forevermore. He knew this because his castle at Cedar Landing was near the North Woods, which some elves were known to live – elves that were a bit friendlier to humans.  

And Paul guessed that the elf must be headed back to the grotto in the middle of the Forest of Forevermore – where some of the most powerful elves in the land lived. So the three of them decided to head in that direction, and they traveled all day.  

As they traveled the three of them passed through a village to get supplies and there were some little kids playing a game with their bow and arrows. One of the little ones had a noticeable birthmark over his eye – a very interesting birthmark. And they noticed that although it looked cool to them, some of the other kids made fun of him for it. So they went up to the boy and complimented him on the birthmark – it almost looked like a scar above his eye.  

“That looks kinda cool,” Paul said. “It makes you look different – unique really.” 

And as soon as the young boy heard that, he took a deep breath, and his chest kind of puffed up, and he looked a Prince Paul and the princesses and smiled because that was the nicest thing anybody had ever said to him. And he went around all day smiling and saying nice things to other people.  

When Princess Nea and Princess Lulu had picked up all their supplies from the village, they couldn't help but notice there was a tall, dark stranger who walked in and he seemed very, very ominous. [Ominous is a word that can mean dark and scary, but it also means a bit mysterious. Like you don’t know what something or someone is all about.] And Nea and Lulu didn’t know what he was all about, because he was asking the lady at the front desk for some fairy water. Now, fairy water was very hard to come by, Princess Nea and Princess Lulu knew that, so did Prince Paul. And there are only very special and rare cases where you would ever need fairy water. Fairy water was often only used to heal people with very serious conditions – like being very sick or hurt. 

Had they more time, they may have stopped to wonder about this dark stranger but they were on a mission and needed to get the grotto in the middle of the Forest of Forevermore and hopefully get back the purple crystal. 

So, they headed out to the Forest of Forevermore but little did they know that it is magic and  very, very hard once you get in to ever get back out of the forest – unless you know the secret way. But Princess Nea and Princess Lulu didn’t know that yet. They hadn’t talked to anybody about going into the Forest of Forevermore and neither had Paul. They just knew that that's where the elf grotto was.  

When the entered the forest, the three of them just went down a path, and then the path split into two. So then they took one of the paths, and then the path again split into three, and they didn't know which way to go. So they took the path on the far right, and then they came to another fork in the path and before they knew it, the sun was going down and it was getting dark, and they hadn’t found their way to the grotto and they were beginning to think they may be lost – lost in this far off forest they had never been to before. 

Then, as they were walking and beginning to get nervous, they heard a crackle in the woods off to the left. And then they saw a flickering light through the trees, and they headed towards it. And lo and behold, it was a fire and there was somebody building a campfire and a little tent. And when they looked closer, they noticed it was the tall, dark stranger from the shop in the village. The one asking about the fairy water.  

As they got closer, neither Nea, nor Lulu nor Paul knew if they should say anything and introduce themselves. Was this guy a good guy or a bad guy?  

Before they could decide, the man heard them coming up and said, “Who goes there? I can hear you – all three of you. Two girls, most likely high born and a boy, possibly a knight in training.” 

And at that very moment, he looked directly at them. But when he looked at them, his eyes looked like he was looking past them – to a spot directly through them and behind them.  

Now, Nea, Lulu and Paul all knew that once introduced and identified, they were make proper introductions. “Yes, you are correct, it is Princess Nea and Princess Lulu of Sparland Castle and Prince Paul of Cedar Landing.”  

And he said, “The Stone Castle, eh.” For Nea and Lulu’s castle was also known as the Stone Castle to some of the older folks. “You three were at the shop today. Come, sit with me.” 

And so they did. And as they sat and talked with the dark stranger, they realized that his eyes couldn’t see them directly. They weren’t even sure if they worked.  

“Excuse me, sir.” Said Nea. “If your eyes can’t see us, how then are you able to get around so well without falling or bumping into things?” 

To that the man smiled. “Nea of the Stone Castle, I am very good a listening and feeling around. There are ways a person can use other senses to figure things out.” Then he winked. 

After talking a bit more around the fire, Prince Paul confessed to him that they were lost. And the man laughed a little and shared with them a secret about the Forest of Forevermore, “Well, here's the thing about this forest, whenever you're looking for the elf grotto, you always take a left when the path splits – nor matter where you are or how long you’ve been in the forest. This forest is magic and if you take enough lefts it will lead you to the elf’s home. And when you’re trying to leave the grotto, you always take right when the path splits. That there, is the secret to this magic forest.” 

So, the next morning when they woke up they thanked the strange man who they noticed wore all black and was still actually very mysterious and ominous, and they headed out on their way – taking only lefts now. To their amazement, it worked! And before they knew it, they were getting close to the elf grotto. They could tell because they could hear more and more water coming from something sounding like caves. As they got close they got real quiet so no one could hear them.  

They were amazed by the beauty of the grotto, for the entrance of the grotto was coming out of the side of a hill and water was rushing out. There were elves walking in and out of the mouth of the cave, but the entrance was decorated beautifully and you could tell there were elf houses built right inside the walls of the cave.  

And as they watched the comings and goings of the grotto they saw her – the female elf who took the purple crystal. And they knew it was her because her pocket glowed – ever so slightly – a rich purple glow – one they recognized from the ogre king.  

Now she was walking pretty fast through the grotto until another elf caught up with her. This elf had a bunch of feathers in his hair and not a minute before she handed it to him, he handed it to another elf who then handed it to another elf. Now what was interest in about it getting to the third elf was that, by now, the crystal had stopped glowing.  

Nea, Lulu and Paul followed close behind the elves – close enough to hear what they were saying as now the elves were walking in concert through the grotto to an open area in the back.  

“How come it stopped glowing?” asked one of the elves. 

“I don’t know, he never said anything about it glowing – just that he needed it.” Said another one. “The Dark Wizard needs it. If he doesn’t get it, we elves are done for.” 

At this point they reached a large palace, to which all the elves disappeared inside through a guarded doorway. In front stood two elves, armed with large spears, helmets and armor. And although Paul & Nea were prepared to fight, the three of them decided to head back to the forest and come up with a plan. 

That night they devised a plan – one that involved sneaking in a side window at dusk and rifling through the elf palace to get the crystal while everyone slept. It never occurred to Nea, Lulu and Paul to just ask for the crystal – which might have actually worked in the first place. But the three fell asleep before that thought could come to them. 

In the middle of the night they heard a startling noise.  

“Who is that?” Paul asked, in the dark. “The shadow man?” 

“Uh no,” is all they heard from a deep feminine voice outside.  

They were somewhat surprised to find at their camp a large ogre just standing there – she was quite a bit taller and if you weren’t careful, might have been intimidated by her. But the more Nea, Lulu & Paul stood there – the more they realized she was just another person, only bigger – and greener.  

“Are you princess Nea? And princess Lulu of Castle Sparland?” she asked. 

“Yes, we are.” Answered Nea.  

“Then this is for you.” She said and handed them the purple, glowing crystal.  

Nea could hardly believe her eyes.  

“How did you get this?” she asked. 

“I don’t have time to explain right now. Take this and return back to your castle. It has been overrun by ogres. There is something else I need to take care of right now but maybe our paths will cross again soon Nea & Lulu of Sparland and ...”  

“Paul, prince Paul of Cedar Landing.” 

“Of course,” she smiled. And with that was gone.  

The three rushed and headed back to their castles, remembering what the Shadow Man said about how to get out of the Forest of Forevermore. Nea and Lulu to theirs and Paul to his to get reinforcements, in case they needed them.  

But that adventure is for another time.  

The end.