A further short journey brought us to the foot of Riddler's Mound. As we stood there in the darkness Prudence explained that in order to open a gateway to the world of the Fey three of us would have to hold her treasures over our heads and follow her in a short ritual that she would recite. As we chanted those strange words into the night a shimmering portal opened before us and the mundane path at our feet became a ribbon of silver which flickered and rippled in the bright moonlight. One by one we stepped through that strange door and, as we did so, the rational world of the 21st century slipped away to be replaced by an older, stranger reality.
We found ourselves on the edge of a wide silver path which stretched away left and right as far as the eye could see, flanked on both sides by verdant walls of tree and bush , stronger and more abundant than any that you would find in the waking world. And it was not only the world around us that had changed, for our clothing had altered and our possessions were now more in keeping with this strange new reality. The guns possessed by Hammer, Jones and others were gone, replaced by sturdy blades of bronze, which flashed in the flickering light of the candles that had replaced our torches.
By the canlelight we could now see a hunched figure seated on the ground, his form cloaked in darkness but with two powerful antlers rising from his head. I am no expert in fables and legends but it was clear that this could only be the pagan spirit of the woods, Herne the Hunter, surely the guardian of this trod.
As Dr. Hawthorne had said, the guardian demanded payment before he would let us walk upon the Faerie Road. Reaching into my walking sack I pulled out the lump of fool's gold that I seemed to have been carrying for years and handed it to the earth spirit and, as Hawthorne predicted, that hunched guardian seemed happy with our offering. Having gained his favour Herne asked which direction we would travel down that shinning path – I could see no difference so I opted for the side sinister and we headed left down the moonlit Trod. Before we departed Herne warned us that we would meet other guardians on that strange path, guardians whose requests we must also fulfil if we wished to reach the end and the Court of the Fey. He further warned us that, if we stepped off that eldritch road, we would be doomed to remain forever in this strange world of dreams.
With that grim warning ringing in our ears we made our way along that mysterious road. Looking left and right we could see nothing but a thick barrier of vegetation, ominous and brooding beneath that bloated Faerie moon. Unsure of the protection they offered those who were now carrying swords clutched them tightly, keeping them poised in readiness for action.
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